BLVM 
ENTH 


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PUBLICATIONS  OF 

THE  HISPANIC  SOCIETY  OF   AMERICA 

No.  109 


STAIRWAY  OF  THE  PALACIO  ARZOBISPAL,  ALCALA  DE  HENARES. 
Alonso  de  Covarruhias,  Architect,  1534  et  seq. 


SPANISH   ARCHITECTURE 

OF 

THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 

GENERAL  VIEW   OF 
THE   PLATERESQUE  AND   HERRERA  STYLES 

BY 

ARTHUR   BYNE 

AND 

MILDRED   STAPLEY 

CORRESPONDING     MEMBERS    OF    THE    HISPANIC    SOCIETY    OF    AMERICA 
AUTHORS    OF     "  REJBRIA    OF    THE    SPANISH    RENAISSANCE,"    AND     "SPANISH    IRONWORK  " 


WITH    EIGHTY    PLATES    AND    ONE    HUNDRED    AND    FORTY    ILLUS- 
TRATIONS IN  THE  TEXT,  FROM  DRAWINGS  AND 
PHOTOGRAPHS  BY  ARTHUR  BYNE 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND   LONDON 

^be     finicherbocher     press 
1917 


Copyright,   1917 

BY 

THE    HISPANIC   SOCIETY   OF    AMERICA 


TTbe  *n(cl5erboclicr  prees,  Hew  Jfforh 


^rchitacture  9 
Urban  Planning 
iibrary 


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SOS 


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PREFACE 

DURING  that  opulent  century  when  Renaissance  art 
flourished  in  Spain  there  was  no  Vasari  to  record 
the  names  and  achievements  of  the  men  who  were 
enriching  the  land  with  the  Estiio  Plateresco.  The  few  con- 
temporaneous writers  who  made  mention  of  them  were  not 
specially  gifted  with  the  critical  faculty;  still  less  with  accu- 
racy. Only  in  the  various  cathedral  archives,  and  even  there 
with  many  an  error,  were  the  names  of  workers  entered  with 
any  sort  of  system;  those  engaged  on  civil  buildings  went  for 
the  most  part  unrecorded.  As  for  the  buildings  themselves 
they  were  hardly  known  outside  their  own  province. 

Not  until  the  late  eighteenth  century  did  Spaniards  begin 
to  investigate  their  country's  abundant  art  treasures.  Then 
in  succession  four  dedicated  themselves  to  the  worthy  task, 
and  produced  valuable  though  necessarily  incomplete  results. 
In  1772  Don  Antonio  Pons  published  his  discursive  and  un- 
documented Viage  de  Espana;  in  1800  followed  Don  Juan 
Agustin  Cean  Bermudez  with  the  more  practical  Diccionario 
Historico  de  los  mas  Ilustres  Profesores  de  las  Bellas  Aries  en 
Espaiia;  in  1804  Don  Isidoro  Bosarte  began  the  publication 
of  a  well-authenticated  Fiage  Artistico  but  never  carried  it 
beyond  the  first  volume;  and  lastly  came  Don  Eugenio  Llaguno 
y  Amirola  with  his  Noticias  de  los  Arquitectos  y  Arquitectura 
de  Espana  desde  su  Restauracion.  This  work,  the  first  to 
pay  attention  to  the  long-neglected  architects,  was  published 
after  the  author's  death  by  his  friend  Cean  Bermudez  (1829). 
Other  capable  investigators  followed,  but  generally  speaking 
it  was  these  four  productions  with  all  their  merits  and  demerits 
that  were  the  source  of  foreign  writings  on  Spanish  art  until 


iv  PREFACE 

the  Englishman  George  Street  added  Some  Account  of  Gothic 
Architecture  in  Spain  to  the  Hst.  Street,  who  was  as  enthu- 
siastic over  the  mighty  Spanish  temples  as  any  native  could 
have  been,  gave  us  instead  of  mere  rhapsodies  the  benefit  of 
his  rare  and  highly  trained  critical  faculty.  Whatever  ground 
he  left  unexplored  fifty  years  ago  has  been  ably  covered  re- 
cently by  Don  Vicente  Lamperez  in  his  Historia  de  la  Arqui- 
tectura  Cristiana  Espaiiola  en  la  Edad  Media. 

As  all  the  authors  cited  concerned  themselves  most  with 
the  Gothic  period  those  who  borrowed  from  them  kept  per- 
force within  the  same  limits.  Few  critics,  native  or  foreign, 
ever  ventured  into  the  Renaissance  century,  the  epoch  of  civil 
rather  than  ecclesiastical  building  activity.  A  number  of 
Spaniards  are  now  devoting  themselves  to  this  period  but 
their  researches  appear  to  be  more  archaeological  than  archi- 
tectural. Thus  far  each  has  been  vying  with  the  other  in 
clarifying  the  authorship  of  disputed  monuments.  This 
subject  is  certainly  confused  enough  but  meanwhile  the  really 
helpful  thing,  graphic  presentation  and  sound  criticism,  is 
wofully  neglected. 

The  unearthing  of  the  history  of  civil  monuments  will  be 
long  and  slow  and  will  never  yield  the  copious  information 
available  on  the  Renaissance  movement  in  other  countries. 
While  patient  people  are  ransacking  the  archives  for  a  name 
or  a  date  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  period  are  falling 
to  pieces,  and  he  who  would  wait  until  their  identity  is  estab- 
lished before  writing  about  them  would  have  nothing  but  a 
memory  to  discuss. 

Spanish  Renaissance  or  Plateresque,  in  its  merely  partial 
acceptance  of  the  Italian  and  its  adherence  to  earlier  styles 
which  it  never  hesitated  to  combine  with  the  new,  diverged 
farther  from  the  established  Renaissance  type  than  did  any 
architecture  north  of  the  Pyrenees.  It  was  far  more  mobile, 
more  personal,  than  the  pseudo-classic  which  followed  and 
crushed  it.  It  flourished  principally  in  Castile.  It  is  abso- 
lutely a  distinct  product  from  that  picturesque,  semi-Moorish 
stucco  architecture  of  Andalusia  which  was  carried  to  the 
Spanish  colonies,  later  to  be  accepted  throughout  both  Ameri- 


PREFACE  V 

cas  as  typical  of  the  mother  country.  Andalusia  has  very 
little  in  common  with  the  stern  central  and  northern  provinces 
where  the  race  battled  so  long  for  its  birthright  of  Europeanism 
as  against  Asianism.  There  stone  was  used  and  monumental- 
ity  was  achieved.  While  not  wishing  to  deny  the  charm  of 
the  stucco  house  nor  its  suitability  to  the  Andalusian  climate, 
one  is  forced  to  protest  against  its  standing  for  the  whole  of 
Spanish  architecture.  Such  widespread  misapprehension 
simply  means  that  the  buildings  of  Castile,  the  very  heart  of 
the  country,  have  been  passed  over  for  a  type  acknowledged 
by  all  Spaniards  except  Andalusians  to  be  exotic.  It  is  to 
increase  the  appreciation  of  what  was  done  in  Castile,  to 
point  out  its  charm  (which  fortunately  does  not  depend  upon 
documents),  and  to  give  the  student  some  idea  of  what  awaits 
him  in  Spain  that  this  general  view  of  the  sixteenth  century 
is  written. 

M.  S.  B. 

5   ViLLANUEVA, 
MADRm, 

June,  1916 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 
TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS 

THREE  HOSPITALS  BEGUN  BY  EGAS  IX  THE  EARLY  SIXTEENTH  CEN- 
TURY  TOLEDO  HOSPITAL  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT — INFLUENCE  OF  THE  ARCH- 
BISHOPS OF  TOLEDO  IN  POLITICS  ANT>  ART EL  GRAN  CARDENAL  MENDOZA 

AND    HIS    COLEGIO      IN    VALLADOLID WHY    THE      RENAISSANCE    ARRIVED 

LATE    IN    SPAIN — IN    WHAT     PROVINCES    IT     FLOURISHED   AND     BY    WHAT 

MEANS  IT  WAS  PROPAGATED VARIOUS  ITALIANS  WHO  WORKED  IN  SPAIN — 

EGAS     AND     THE     CATALAN     GOLDSMITH — ORIGIN     OF     THE     TERM     PLAT- 

ERESCO PROBABLE    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    GENOESE    ARCHITECTS    AT    LA- 

CALAHORRA — VARIOUS   BUILDINGS    ATTRIBUTED  TO    EGAS THE    EARLIEST 

PLATERIA  SHOWING    THE    NEW     FORMS — ANALYSIS     OF    THE     HOSPITAL   DE 

LA    SANTA    CRUZ — THE  TERM  ARTESONADO RESEMBLANCE   BETWEEN  THE 

STAIRWAY   OF  THE  HOSPITAL  AND  THAT  AT  LACALAHORRA THE   HOSPITAL 

REAL  AT   SANTIAGO    DE    COMPOSTELA EGAS'S    SLIGHT    CONNECTION  WITH 

THE  HOSPITAL  AT  GRANADA EGAS  AND  HIS   SON-IN-LAW   COVARRUBIAS — 

DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE  IN  TOLEDO THE  MUDEJAR  STYLE — THE  GRAN- 
ITE PORTALS  OF    TOLEDO    HOUSES          ......  2 

CHAPTER  n 
COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA 

ALONSO  DE  COVARRUBIAS — THE  COMPETITION  FOR  THE  CAPILLA  DE 
LOS  REYES  NUEVOS — COVARRUBIAS  APPOINTED  MAESTRO  MAYOR  OF 
TOLEDO  CATHEDRAL  IN  1 534  AND  LATER  APPOINTMENT  AS  MASTER  OF 
ROYAL    WORKS — DESCRIPTION    OF    HIS    CHAPEL    OF    THE    NEW    KINGS — HIS 

PORTAL    TO    THE    CAPILLA    DE    SAN    JUAN ALCALA    DE    HENARES    AND    ITS 

RELATION  TO  TOLEDO — DON  ALONSO  DE  FONSECA,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  TOLEDO, 
ORDERS  THE  REMODELING  OF  THE  ARCHIEPISCOPAL  PALACE  AT  ALCALA — 
LAS      MEDIDAS      DEL      ROMANO     AND      ITS     DEDICATION — DESCRIPTION     OF 

THE  archbishop's    PALACE BERRUGUETE's    SCULPTURE   IN  THE    PATIO 

MARKED    TENDENCY    TOWARDS    REALISM     IN    SPANISH    ORNAMENT — REPE- 

vii 


viii  CONTEXTS 

TITIOX  OF  EGAS'S  STAIRWAY  AT  TOLEDO — MAGNIFICENT  SERIES  OF  ARTESO- 
NADOS  IN  THE  PALACE — THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ALCALA  FOUNDED  BY  CARDINAL 
JIMENEZ  DE  CISNEROS  AND  BUILT  BY  PEDRO  GUMIEL — ITS  NEW  FACADE  BY 
RODRIGO  GIL  DE  ONTANON — THE  ESCUTCHEON  OF  SPAIN  AND  ITS  DECORA- 
TIVE USE — SPANISH  OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  RENAISSANCE  FORMS  AT  ALCALA — 
THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY — THE  CARDINAL's  TOMB  IN  THE  COL- 
LEGIATE CHURCH — LACK  OF  OTHER  RENAISSANCE  WORK  IN  ALCALA  .  40 

CHAPTER  III 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  FRANCISCO  DE  COLONIA  IN  BURGOS 

BISHOP  JUAN  RODRIGUEZ  DE  FONSECA  AND  HIS  PROTEGES — THE  FON- 
SECAS  AT  COCA  AND  SALAMANCA — THE  PUERTA  DE  LA  PELLEJERIA  BY 
FRANCISCO  DE  COLONIA FRANCISCO'S  EASILY  RECOGNIZED  PECULIAR- 
ITIES— HIS  DOOR  TO  THE  SACRISTY  OF  THE  CONSTABLE'S  CHAPEL — THE 
REJERO  CRISTOBAL  DE  ANDINO  AS  A  RENAISSANCE  DESIGNER — THE  ESCALERA 
DORADA  BY  DIEGO  DE  SILOE — OTHER  PLATERESQUE  WORKS  IN  BURGOS 
CATHEDRAL — THE  HOSPITAL  DEL  REY — THE  CASA  MIRANDA  .  .  78 

CHAPTER  IV 
THE  DOMESTIC  PLAN  AND  THE  PALACE  AT   PEN  ARAN  DA 

ABANDONING  THE  FEUDAL  CASTLES — NEW  HOMES  UNLIKE  THOSE  OF 
CONTEMPORARY  EUROPE — EVOLUTION  FROM  CASTILLO  TO  PALACIO — THE 
PATIO  AS  NUCLEUS  OF  PLAN  AND  ITS  PART  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  SPANISH  WOMEN — 
LACK  OF  SYSTEMATIC  ARRANGEMENT  IN  ROOMS,  WHICH  ARE  MERELY  A 
SERIES  OF  SIMILAR  UNITS  AROUND  THE  PATIO — PRACTICAL  ASPECT  OF 
THE  SPANISH  PLAN — LACK  OF  SYSTEM  IN  HOUSEHOLD  ADMINISTRATION 
AND  ITS  EFFECT — THE  KITCHEN  ALMOST  NEGLIGIBLE — NO  BUILT-IN 
ACCESSORIES  IN  THE  LIVING-ROOMS,  THESE  BEING  DESIGNATED  BY  THE 
CONTENTS  OF  THE  CARVED  CHESTS — ABSENCE  OF  GARDEN  TREATMENT 
IN  FRONT  OF  THE  PALACE — ALL  THE  PECULIARITIES  OF  PLAN  AND  SETTING 
EXEMPLIFIED  IN  THE  PENARANDA  PALACE — CRUDE  MASONRY  AND  BEAUTI- 
FUL PORTAL  OF  THE  FACADE — PATIO  AND  SUMPTUOUS  CLAUSTRAL  STAIR 
WITH  MAGNIFICENT  ARTESONADO — SALONS  OF  THE  PISO  PRINCIPAL  OR 
MAIN  FLOOR  AND  THEIR  ARTESONADOS — YESERIA  OR  MOORISH  PLASTER- 
WORK —  PRESENT   CONDITION    OF    THE    PALACE  .  .  .  .       IO6 

CHAPTER  V 
SALAMANCA 

MANY  RENAISSANCE  BUILDINGS  IN  SALAMANCA — ANTIQUITY  AND  FAME 
OF  SALAMANCA  UNIVERSITY — THE  CITY  IN  GOTHIC  TIMES — RENAISSANCE 
EMBELLISHMENT    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    BUILDINGS    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY 


CONTENTS  ix 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  FAgADE — THE  ESCUELAS  MENORES  OR  PREPARATORY 
SCHOOL — INTERIOR  WORK  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY — PALACES  AND  THEIR 
DIVISION  INTO  TWO  GROUPS — NEAREST  APPROACH  TO  THE  ITALIAN  IN  THE 
PALACES  BUILT  BY  THE  FONSECA  BISHOPS — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CASA 
SALINA — THE  CASA  DE  LAS  MUERTES — THE  MALDONADO  HOUSES  OPPOSITE 
THE  CHURCH  OF  SAN  BENITO THE  PALACIO  MONTEREY  LARGEST  IN  SALA- 
MANCA— SEVERAL    SMALL    EXAMPLES THE    DOMINICAN    CHURCH    OF    SAN 

ESTEBAN — ARCHBISHOP  FONSECA's  COLEGIO  DE  SANTIAGO  APOSTOL, 
NOW  COLEGIO  DE  LOS  IRLANDESES — PEDRO  DE  IBARRA— ARCHITECTURAL 
SCULPTURE  BY  BERRUGUETE  AND  HIS  SCHOOL  IN  SALAMANCA       .  .        I30 

CHAPTER  VI 
ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA 

AVILA  AND  THE  TOMB  BY  DOMENICO  FANCELLI — FANCELLl's  DISCIPLE 
VASCO  DE  LA  ZARZA  AND  HIS  MONUMENTS  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL — ZARZA's 
EXTRAORDINARY  FACILITY  IN  THE  SMALL  MARBLE  CUSTODIA — THE  MONU- 
MENT  IN  THE   SACRISTY   BY   BERRUGUETE  OR  A   PUPIL — GRANITE  PALACES 

OF     AVILA — SEGOVIA     AND     ITS     PALACES — SGRAFFITO    TREATMENT VAL- 

LADOLID    AND     ITS     SCARCITY    OF     RENAISSANCE — THE     COLEGIO    DE     SAN 

GREGORIO THE    PROVINCIAL    MUSEUM     IN    THE    COLEGIO    DE    LA    SANTA 

CRUZ  AND  THE     REMARKABLE   SCULPTURE    IT  HOLDS SHORT  HISTORY    OF 

WOODEN  POLYCHROME  SCULPTURE  IN  SPAIN — THE  PROCESS  OF  ESTOFADO 

ALONSO  DE   BERRUGUETE,    TRAINED   IN  ITALY,    RENOUNCING  MARBLE   AND 

RETURNING   TO  WOOD   AND  COLOR HIS   STALLS   IN  TOLEDO  CATHEDRAL — 

THE  RETABLO  FOR  SAN  BENITO HIS  PUPILS  AND  FOLLOWERS — ESTREMA- 
DURA AND  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  PLASENCIA — LOCAL  TYPE  OF  HOUSE  BUILT 
FOR    THE    CONQUISTADORES    IN    ZAFRA,    TRUJILLO,    AND    CACERES — LEON 

AND    THE    WORK    OF    JUAN    DE    BADAJOZ THE    FAQADE    OF    SAN   MARCOS — 

THE  GUZMAN  PALACE — THE  CLOISTER  OF  THE  MONASTERY  OF  SAN  ZOIL  IN 
THE  TOWN  OF  CARRION  DE  LOS  CONDES — BITS  OF  RENAISSANCE  IN 
WIDELY    SCATTERED    TOWNS    OF   OLD   AND   NEW   CASTILE  .  .     168 

CHAPTER  VII 
SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO 

Seville's  political  importance  after  the  discovery  of  America — 
the  casa  de  contrataciox  or  board  of  trade — diego  de  riano, 
architect  of  the  casas  capitulares  or  city  hall — riano  compared 

with  diego  de  siloe  who  worked  contemporaneously  in  granada 

riano's  probable  plan  for  the  city  hall — exterior  of  the  build- 
ing— interior  and  arrangement  of  radiating  figures  in  ceil- 
ings— riano's  work  in  the  cathedral  as  maestro  mayor— his  early 
death — martin    gaixza    and   others   who    succeeded   as    maestro 


X  CONTENTS 

MAYOR  AND  THE  CHANGES  THEY  MADE  IN  RIANo's  PLANS — THE  SACRISTIA 
MAYOR A  FEW  OF  THE  TREASURES  GUARDED  IN  THE  SACRISTY — RENAIS- 
SANCE REJAS  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  BY  SANCHO  MUNOZ  OF  CUENCA  AND 
FRAY  FRANCISCO  OF  SALAMANCA — THE  GIRALDA  OR  BELFRY  OF  THE 
CATHEDRAL — ITS  UPPER  PORTION  BY  FERNAN  RUIZ — LOCAL  CRITICISM  OF 
RUIZ'S   WORK     .  .  .  ,  .  .  .  .210 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  OSUNA 

PREVALENCE  OF  MUDEJAR  TRADITIONS  IN  DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE 

COLOR  FREELY   USED  IN  INTERIORS THE  PATIO  CHIEFLY  AN  EXPRESSION 

IN  YESERIA — METHODS  OF  WORKING  PLASTER — AZULEJOS  AND  THEIR 
USE — INTRODUCTION  OF  RENAISSANCE  DESIGNS  BY  THE  ITALIAN  CERAMIST 
FRAY  NICULOSO  OF  PISA — HIS  PORTAL  TO  THE  CONVENT-CHURCH  OF  SANTA 
PAULA — SEVILLIAN  GARDENS  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT — HOUSE  OF  THE 
DUKE  OF  ALBA,  KNOWN  LOCALLY  AS  THE  CASA  DE  LAS  DUENAS — OTHER 
MUDEJAR  HOUSES — THE  RIBERA  TOMBS  IN  THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  UNIVER- 
SITY— THE  TOWN  OF  OSUNA  NEAR  SEVILLE — THE  COLLEGIATE  CHURCH  AND 
THE   SEPULCRO   DE   LOS   DUQUES  ......       234 

CHAPTER  IX 
GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE 

ATTITUDE  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CONQUERORS  TOWARDS  MOORISH  ART — 
IMPORTATION  OF  CASTILIAN  ARCHITECTS — THE  ROYAL  CHAPEL  OR  MAU- 
SOLEUM   FOR   THE    CATHOLIC    SOVEREIGNS    THE    FIRST    UNDERTAKING — ITS 

FURNISHINGS    ORDERED    BY    DON    ANTONIO    DE    FONSECA THE    TOMB    OF 

FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA  BY  DOMENICO  FANCELLI — THAT  OF  JOAN  AND 
PHILIP  THE  FAIR  BY  BARTOLOME  ORDONEZ — THE  RETABLO  BY  FELIPE  DE 
VIGARNI — THE    REJA    BY    BARTOLOME    OF    JAEN — ENRIQUE    DE    EGAS    AND 

THE     NEW    CATHEDRAL THE    COMMISSION    TRANSFERRED    TO    DIEGO    DE 

SILOE — HIS  MANNER  OF  ADAPTING  A  RENAISSANCE  PLAN  TO  EGAS's  GOTHIC 

FOUNDATIONS SILOE's  DOME — HIS  CARVING  ON  THE  PUERTA  DE   PERDON 

AND  THE  PUERTA  DE    SAN    JERONIMO SILOE    AND    THE  CONVENT-CHURCH 

OF  SAN  JERONIMO — SILOE  AS  AN  ARCHITECTURAL  ORNAMENTALIST — THE 
CASA  CASTRIL — SILOE's  LONG  LIFE  IN  GRANADA — HOSPITAL  REAL  BY 
ENRIQUE    DE    EGAS    AND   JUAN    GARCIA   DE    PRADAS  .  .  .       260 

CHAPTER  X 
THE  ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  AND  PROVINCIAL  WORK 

PEDRO  DE  MACHUCA  RECOMMENDED  TO  THE  EMPEROR — CLASSIC  PLAN 
OF  THE  PALACE  AND  ITS  AWKWARD  ADJUSTMENT  TO  DOMESTIC  NEEDS — 
VARIOUS  INTERRUPTIONS  TO  THE  WORK — THE  SOUTHERN  OR  SECONDARY 
PORTAL    BY    MACHUCA — THE    WESTERN    OR    PRINCIPAL    ENTRANCE    BY    HIS 


CONTENTS  xi 

SON — THE     CIRCULAR     PATIO — DOMESTIC    WORK     IN    GRANADA — THE    TWO 

VARIETIES  OF  WOODEN  CEILINGS CEILING  IN  THE  EMPEROR's  APARTMENTS 

IN  THE  ALHAMBRA — TILED  STAIRCASES — PEBBLE  MOSAICS — THE  MENDOZA 
CASTLE  AT  LACALAHORRA — ITS  STAIRCASE  AS  A  POSSIBLE  INSPIRATION  TO 
ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS — JAEN  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ANDRES  VANDELVIRA — 
VANDELVIRA's  CHURCH  OF  SAN  SALVADOR  IN  UBEDA — SILLERIA  IN  THE 
CHURCH  OF  SANTA  MARIA — PALACES  IN  UBEDA — THE  AYUNTAMIENTO 
OR  CITY  HALL  OF  BAEZA — THE  BENAVENTE  PALACE  .  .  .      296 

CHAPTER  XI 
ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON 

ZARAGOZA's  RENEWED  PROSPERITY  AFTER  THE  UNION  OF  ARAGON  AND 
CASTILE — RESTORATION  OF  THE  MOORISH  ALJAFERIA — ROYAL  ARCHBISHOPS 
IN  ZARAGOZA — ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS'S  CIMBORIO  TO  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF 
LA  SEC  AND  OTHER  PERSIAN  FEATURES — THE  ITALIAN  GIOVANNI  MORETO 
IN  ZARAGOZA — HIS  INFLUENCE  ON  DAMIAN  FORMENT — THE  PORTAL  OF 
SANTA  ENGRACIA  BY  JUAN  AND  DIEGO  DE  MORLANES — TUDELILLA  AND 
THE  TRASCORO  OF  LA  SEO — HIS  ALTAR  OF  THE  TRINITY  IN  JACA — THE 
DISPUTED  CAPILLA  DE  SAN  BERNARDO  IN  LA  SEO — IMPORTANCE  OF  MUDE- 
JARES  IN  ZARAGOZA — MUDEJAR  TOWERS  AND  TILED  CUPOLAS — MUDEJAR 
PALACES  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY — THE  LONJA  AND  ITS  RESEMBLANCE 
TO  THE  RICCARDI  PALACE  OF  FLORENCE — ITS  MASSIVE  WOODEN  CORNICE — 

INTERIOR  OF  THE  LONJA — TWO  TYPES  OF  WOODEN  CORNICE  OR  ALERO 

THE   CASA    ZAPORTA   OR   DE    LA    INFANTA,    NOW    REMOVED  TO    PARIS THE 

PALACIO  DE  LUNA  OR  AUDIENCIA — BRICKWORK  OF  THE  FACADE — OTHER 
HOUSES  IN  THE  CITY — TARAZONA  AND  OTHER  ARAGONESE  TOWNS  334 

CHAPTER  XII 
OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 

THE  MALLORCAN  ARISTOCRATS  OF  THE  EARLY  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY — 
SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  FURNISHINGS  STILL  IN  DAILY  USE  IN  PALMA  HOMES — 
MALLORCAN  ARCHITECTS  IN  GOTHIC  DAYS JUAN  DE  SALES  FIRST  RENAIS- 
SANCE ARCHITECT  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL — HIS  LARGE  PULPIT — DOMESTIC 
ARCHITECTS  UNKNOWN — INSULAR  TYPE  OF  PALACE — FAQADE  DICTATED 
BY  NARROWNESS  OF  STREET — PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  PALMA  PATIO, 
CALLED  ZAGUAN — SUPERIOR  CHARACTER  OF  ITS  MASONRY — UNIQUE 
STAIRWAY  CONSTRUCTION  THROUGHOUT  THE  CITY — SHEET-IRON  BALUS- 
TRADES— CONCENTRATED  PLAN  OWING  TO  BUILDING  OVER  OF  ZAGUAN 
AREA — PALACE  OF  THE  MARQUES  DE  VIVOT — THE  CASA  DEL  MARQUES 
DE  PALMER  AND  ITS  FLEMISH  TOUCHES THE  OLEZA  HOUSE OTHER  EX- 
AMPLES IN  THE  CITY                ........       362 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II 
Philip's  interest  in  architecture  while  yet  prince — the  chill 

HE  cast  over  PLATERESQUE — FORETASTE  OF  HIS  PREFERRED  STYLE  TO 
BE  FOUND  IN  THE  HOSPITAL  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST  IN  TOLEDO — ITS 
FOUNDER  ARCHBISHOP  TAVERA  RENOUNCES  COVARRUBIAS  AND  SELECTS 
THE  PRIEST  BARTOLOME  BUSTAMENTE — BUSTAMENTE  AND  THE  MAESTROS 
OF  THE  CATHEDRAL — SIMPLICITY  OF  THE  PLAN — THE  CHURCH  OF  THE 
HOSPITAL    CONTAINING   ARCHBISHOP    TAVERA's    TOMB    BY     BERRUGUETE — 

THE    ONLY    COMPLETED    QUADRANGLE    OF    THE    PLAN THE     UNFINISHED 

FAgADE  AND  LATER  ADDITIONS — THE  ROYAL  ALCAZAR  OF  TOLEDO  AND  THE 
CHANGE  OF  STYLE  IN  THE  PLATERESQUE  ARCHITECTS  EMPLOYED  ON  IT — 
THE  PATIO  BY  COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  STAIRWAY  BY  VILLALPANDO — THE 
PROVINCIAL    HOSPITAL   OF    SEVILLE — THE    PALACE  AT    SALDANUELA  .       388 

CHAPTER  XIV 

JUAN  DE  HERRERA  AND  THE  LATTER  PART  OF  THE 

CENTURY 

THE  ESCORIAL  THE  GREAT  MONUMENT  OF  PHILIP's  REIGN — HIS  SEVERAL 
MOTIVES  FOR  BUILDING  IT THE  ESCORIAL  COMPARED  WITH  THE  VAT- 
ICAN— Philip's  choice  of  juan  bautista  de  toledo  as  architect — 

THE    monarch's    SOLICITUDE    IN    CHOOSING    AN    APPROPRIATE     SITE    FOR 

THE   MONASTERY JUAN  BAUTISTA's   SPLENDID  SOUBASSEMENT — GRIDIRON 

PLAN  OF  THE  BUILDING PHILIP'S  PROMPTITUDE  IN  ORDERING  FURNISH- 
INGS AND  MATERIALS — HIS  DECISION  TO  INCREASE  THE  CAPACITY  OF  THE 
MONASTERY  AND  THE  ADDITION  OF  A  THIRD  STORY — EARLY  DEATH  OF 
JUAN  BAUTISTA — HIS  SUCCESSOR  JUAN  DE  HERRERA,  AN  ASTURIAN— 
COMPLETION  OF  THE  COLOSSAL  STRUCTURE FOREIGN  ARCHITECTS  CLAIM- 
ING TO  HAVE  BUILT  IT — ITS  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENT  NOT  IN  ARCHITECTURE 
AS  A  FINE  ART,  BUT  IN  SCHEME — DOME  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  RELATION  TO 
MICHELANGELO'S  AND  THE  ELDER  SANGALLO'S — HERRERA's  ARCHITEC- 
TURALIZING  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  FAQADE — ANALYSIS  OF  THE  PLAN — 
COMPARISON  BETWEEN  JUAN  BAUTISTA  AND  HERRERA — REMAINING  PRO- 
DUCTIONS   OF    THESE    TWO — HERRERA's   CATHEDRAL    IN    VALLADOLID^HIS 

SMALL    PALACE    IN    PLASENCIA — THE    PUENTE    DE    SEGOVIA    IN    MADRID 

THE  LONJA  IN  SEVILLE — THOROUGH  CONFORMITY  OF  ALL  IMPORTANT 
NEW  EDIFICES  TO  HERRERA's  AND  PHILIP's  TYPE  AND  UTTER  EXTINCTION 
OF    THE    CREATIVE    SPARK  .......       4°^ 

Index     ........•-  •     43i 


PLATES 

Stairway   of   the   Palacio   Arzobispal,   Alcala  de   Henares 

Frontispiece 

PLATE  PAGE 

I. — Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz,  Toledo       ...         5 

II. — Patio  of  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz,  Toledo.        9 

III. — Section  through  Stairway  of  the  Hospit.\l  de 

Santa  Cruz,  Toledo      .         .         .  19 

IV. — Stair  Newel  in  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz 

Similar  Newel  in  a  Toledo  House     .         .       23 

V. — Elevation    of     Hospital    Real,     Santiago    de 

CoMPOSTELA  ......       25 

VI. — Portal  of  the  Hospital  Real,  Santiago  .         .       31 

VII. — Patio  of  the  Casa  del  Greco,  Toledo  .       35 

VIII. — Portal   of    the   Convento    de    San   Clemente, 

Toledo         .......      43 

IX. — Doorway  of  the  Capilla  de  San  Juan,  Toledo 

Cathedral   .......       47 

X. — Patio  of  the  Palacio  Arzobispal,  Alcal.a  .       53 

XI. — Doorway  in  the  Palacio  Arzobispal,  Alcala    .       59 

XII. — Section   through    Stairway    of    the     Pal.\cio 

Arzobispal,  Alcala      .         .         .         .         .61 

XIII. — Pilaster    Panels    of    the    Pal.\cio   Arzobisp.\l, 

Alcala  .......       65 

XIV. — Elevation  of  the  University  of  Alcal.4  .       69 

XV. — Entrance  to  the  Sacristy  of  the  Capilla  del 

CONDESTABLE,    BURGOS    C.\THEDRAL  .  .  8l 

XVI. — Palacio  de  Medinaceli,  Cogolludo  ...       87 
XVII. — The  Escalera  Dor.\da,  Burgos  Cathedr.\l        .       89 


xiv  PLATES 

PLATE  PAGE 

XVIII. — Entrance  to  the  Hospital  del  Rey,  Burgos    .       93 

XIX. — Door  Panel  of  the  Church  of  the  Hospital  del 

Rey,  Burgos         ......       95 

XX. — Patio  of  the  Casa  Miranda,  Burgos         .         .101 

XXI. — Portal  of  the  Palacio  de  Penaranda       .         .     115 

XXII. — Artesonado  over  the   Stairway  of  the  Palacio 

de  Penaranda   .    .    .    .    ,    -119 

XXIII. WlNDO\V      WITH      YeSERIA      IN      THE       PaLACIO      DE 

Penaranda  .......     123 

XXIV. — Artesonado  in  a  Small  Salon  of  the  Palacio  de 

Penaranda  .         .         .         .         .         .125 

XXV. — Detail   from   the   Faqade   of   the   University, 

Salamanca   .  .         .         .         .  133 

XXVI. — Portal  of  the  Escuelas  Menores,  Salamanca       135 

XXVII. — Stair  Ramp  in  the  University  of  Salamanca    .     141 

XXVIII. — Casa    Salina,    Salamanca.      Elevation    of   the 

Casa  Salina  .         .         .         .         .         .147 

XXIX. — Elevation  of  the  Casa  de  Las  Muertes,  Sala- 
manca .         .  .         .         .  151 

XXX. — Palacio    de  Maldonado  y  Morillo,    Salamanca     153 

XXXI. — San  Esteban,  Salamanca    .....     159 

XXXII. — Patio  of  the  Colegio  de  los  Irlandeses,  Sala- 
manca .......     163 

XXXIII. — Tomb  of  the  Infante  Don  Juan  in  the  Church 

OF  Santo  Tom  as,  Avila        .         .         .         -171 

XXXIV. — Monument  to  Bishop  Alfonso  de  Madrigal,  El 

Tostado,  Avila  Cathedral  ,         .         -175 

XXXV. — Patio  of  the  Colegio  de  San  Gregorio,  Valla- 

DOLiD  .......     183 

XXXVI. — Three   Figures   in   Wood  from  the  Retablo  of 

San  Benito,  Valladolid,  by  Berruguete     .     187 

XXXVII. — Detail    of    the    Facade  of  San  Marcos,  Leon     195 

XXXVIII. — Two  Bays  in  the  Cloister  of  San  Zoil,  Carrion 

de  los  Condes     .         .         .         .         .         -197 

XXXIX. — Cloister   of   Former   Hieronymite   Monastery, 

LupiANA        .......     203 


PLATES  XV 


PLATE 


PAGE 


XL. — Doors  in  the  Sacristy,  Cuenca  Cathedral       .     205 

XLI.     Ayuxtamiento  or  Town  Hall,  vSeville      .         .213 

XLII. — Scale   Drawing  of  a  Window  of  the  Ayunta- 

miento,  Seville   .         .  .219 

XLIIL— Reja  of  the  Capilla  Mayor,  Seville  Cathedral    225 

XLIV.     La  Giralda,  the  Campanile  of  Seville  Cathedral 

Scale  Drawing  of  the  Giralda  .         .     229 

XLV. — Three  Panels  of  Yeseria  from  the  Casa  Alba, 

Seville         .......     237 

XLVL — Altar  of  Azulejos  in  the  Real  Alcazar,  Seville    241 

XLVIL — AzuLEjo  Portal  of  the  Convento  de  Santa  Paula, 

Seville         .......     243 

XLVIIL — Garden  of  the  Museo  Provincial,  Seville       .     247 

XLIX.     Plan  of  the  Casa  Alba,  Seville       .         .  251 

L. — ALA.IN  Patio  of  the  Casa  Alba,  Seville.     Minor 

Patio  of  the  Casa  Alba,  Seville        .         .     255 

LL — Tomb  of  Don  Pedro  Enriquez  de  Ribera  in  the 
University  Church,  Seville.  Tomb  of  Dona 
Catalina  de  Ribera,  in  the  University 
Church,  Seville  .....     259 

LIL — Patio  in  the  Sepulcro  de  los  Duques,  Osuna       263 

LIIL — Tombs  and  Reja  in  the  Capilla  Real,  Granada    271 

LIV. — Drawing  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Catholic  Kings,  in 

the  Capilla  Real,  Granada         .         .         -275 

LV. — Polychrome   Wooden   Retablo  in  the   Capilla 

Real,  Granada    .  .  .  .  .  .279 

LVL     Interior  of  Granada  Cathedral       .         .         .     287 

LVIL — South  Portal  of  Charles  V's  Palace,  Granada     299 

LVIIL — Fountain    of    Charles  V  in   the    Alameda  del 

Alhambra     .......     305 

LIX. — Ceiling  in  the  Council  Room  of  the  Ayunta- 

MiENTo  Viejo,  Granada        ....     309 

LX. — Ceiling  in  the   Emperor's   Apartments   in  the 

Moorish  Palace  of  the  Alhambra,  Gr.\nada    313 

LXL — Stairway  of  the  Castillo  de  Lacalahorra        .     317 
LXIL — Cathedral  of  Jaen    .  .  .  .  .  -321 


xvi  PLATES 

PLATE  PAGE 

LXIII. — SiLLERiA  OF  Santa  Maria,  Ubeda 


LXIV. — Casa  de  las  Torres,  Ubeda 

LXV.     jMudejar  Brickwork  of  the  Cathedral  of  La  Seo 
Zaragoza      ...... 


329 

337 
347 


LXVL — Wooden  Cornice  of  the  Lonja,  Zaragoza 

LXVIL — Cornice  and  Faqade  of  the  Real  ]\L\estranza, 

Zaragoza      .         .         .         .         .         .  351 

LXVin. — Elevation  of  the  Audiencia,  Zaragoza     .         .     355 

LXIX. — Patio  in  the  Former  IMuseo  Provincial,  Zara- 
goza      357 

LXX. — Cupola  over  Stairway  in  the  Archivo  General 
DE  Aragon,  Barcelona.  Artesonado  in  the 
Council  Room  of  the  Audiencia,  Valencia    365 

LXXL — Two  Views  of  the  Stairway  in  the  Casa  Oleza, 

Palma  de  Mallorca    .....     373 

LXXIL — Elevation  of  the  Casa  del  Marques  de  Palmer, 

Palma 377 

LXXIIL — Wooden    Cornice    of    the    Casa    Consistorial, 

Palma  .......     383 

LXXIV. — Hospital  de  San  Juan  Bautista,  Toledo  .         .     391 

LXXV. — Tomb  of  Cardinal  Tavera  in  the  Hospital  de 

San  Juan  Bautista      .         .         .         .         -395 

LXXVL — Spandrel  over  jNIain    Portal  of  the  Hospital 

Provincial,  Seville      .....     403 

LXXVIL — El  ]\Ionasterio  Real  de  San  Lorenzo,  El  Escorial  41 1 

LXXVIII. — Plan  of  the  Escorial 415 

LXXIX. — Patio  de  los  Evangelistas  in  the  Escorial      .  421 

LXXX. — Cathedral  of  Valladolid           ....  425 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THE  TEXT 


IGURE  PACE 

I. — Plan  of  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz,  Toledo        .         .  13 

2. — Silver  Custodia  in  the  Colegiata  at  Covarrubias         .  15 

3. — Gold  and  Silver  Custodia  in  the  Royal  Monastery  of 

Silos       .........  15 

4. — Detail  of  Portal  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Hospital,  Toledo.  16 

5. — Interior  OF  THE  Santa  Cruz  Hospital,  Toledo   .    .  17 

6. — Upper  Story  of  Patio  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Hospital, 

Toledo  .    .        .        .    .    .    .21 

7. — Plan  of  the  Hospital  Real,  Santiago  de  Compostela    .  28 

8. — Patio  of  the  Hospital  Real,  Santiago  ....  29 

9. — Plan  of  the  Restored  Casa  del  Greco,  Toledo     .         .  33 

10. — Reproduction  of  Chimney-piece  in  a  Toledo  House       .  34 

II. — Typical  Granite  Doorway,  Toledo        ....  38 

12. — Tomb  of  Enrique  II  of  Castile,  Toledo  Cathedral  42 

13. — Detail  of  the  Portal  of  the  Capilla  de  San  Juan, 

Toledo  Cathedral.         ......  46 

14. — Carved  Wooden  Doors  to  the  Sala  Capitular,  Toledo 

Cathedral       ........  49 

15. — Panel   from  Wardrobe    in    the   Antesala   Capitular, 

Toledo  Cathedral           ......  50 

16. — Two  Figures  from  the  Silleria,  Toledo  Cathedral       .  52 

17. — Upper    Story   of    Patio   of   the    Palacio   Arzobispal, 

Alcala    .....■■•■  56 

18. — Detail  of  Rustication   in  the   Patio  of  the   Palacio 

Arzobispal,  Alcala          .         .         .         ■         ■  :>7 

19. — Capital  from  the  Palacio  Arzobispal,  now  in  the  jMuseo 

Arqueologico,  ]\Iadrid    ......  58 


xviii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

20. — Wooden  Artesonado  in  the  Palacio  Arzobispal,  Alcala  64 

21. — Detail  FROM  THE  Facade  OF  THE  University,  Alcala         .  71 
22. — Escutcheon  of  Charles  V  over  Portal  of  the  Monastery 

AT   YUSTE 73 

23. — Blind  Window  in  the  Facade  of  the  University,  Alcala  .  74 

24. — Portal  of  the  Convento  de  las  Carmelitas,  Alcala         .  77 
25. — Rubbing  from  Tomb  of  Dona  Mencia  de  Mendoza,  Wife 

OF  THE  CONDESTABLE  DE  CaSTILLA,  BuRGOS  CATHEDRAL  83 

26. — PuERTADE  LA  Pellejeria,  Burgos  Cathedral.         .         .  84 

27. — Detail  from  Reja  of  the   Capilla   del  Condestable, 

Burgos  Cathedral  .         .         .         .         .         .         -91 

28. — Detail  from  Tomb  of  Canon  Gonzalo  de  Lerma,  in  the 

Capilla  de  la  Presentacion,  Burgos  Cathedral     .  92 

29. — Detail  of  Arch  Soffit,  in  the  Hospital  del  Rey,  Burgos  98 

30. — Section  through  Stairway  in  the  Casa  Miranda,  Burgos  99 

31. — Vaulting  of  Stairway  in  the  Casa  Miranda,  Burgos     .  100 


32 

33 
34 
35 
36 
37 


— Santa  Maria  del  Campo,  near  Burgos   .         .         .         .103 

— Long  Gallery  in  the  Palacio  de  Monterey,  Salamanca     107 

— An  Outdoor  Kitchenette      ......     108 

— Plan  of  the  Palacio  de  Penaranda  de  Duero  .         .         .110 

— Upper  Gallery  of  Patio  in  the  Palacio  de  Penaranda  .     117 

— Carved  Stone  Plinth  of  Upper  Doorway  in  the  Palacio 

DE  Penaranda         .         .         .         .         .         .         .118 


38. — Doorway  from  Patio  to  Main  Salon  in  the  Palacio  de 

Penaranda      ........  121 

39. — Main  Salon  of  the  Palacio  de  Penaranda     .         .         .122 

40. — Frieze  of  Wood  in   ]\Iain   Salon  of  the   Palacio    de 

Penaranda      ........  128 

41. — Facade  of  the  University,  Salamanca  ....  137 

42 . — Detail  of  Portal  of  the  Escuelas  Menores,  Salamanca  .  1 38 

43. — Wooden  Ceiling  in  Patio  of  the  University,  Salamanca  .  140 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


44- 
45-- 
46.- 

47- 

48.- 

49- 
50.- 

52.- 

53- 
54-- 

55-" 
56.- 
57- 
58-- 
59-- 

60.- 
61.- 
62.- 
63- 

64.- 

65- 
66.- 

67- 
68.- 

69.- 
70.- 

71- 
72.- 


-Stair  Newel  in  the  Palacio  de  San  Boal,  Salamanca 
-Corbels  in  Patio  of  the  Casa  Salinas,  Salamanca, 

-Motif  from  Facade  of  the  Casa  de  las  Muertes,  Sala- 
manca    ....... 

-Palacio  de  Monterey,  Salamanca  . 

-Colegio  de  San  Ildefonso,  Salamanca   . 

-Detail  from  Portal  of  San  Esteban,  Salamanca 

-Upper  Cloister  of  the  Colegio  de  los  Irlandeses,  Sala- 
manca    ....... 

-Patio  of  the  Convento  de  las  Duenas,  Salamanca 

-Patio  of  the  Castillo  de  Villanueva  de  Caneda,  near 
Salamanca      ...... 

-Trascoro  of  Avila  Cathedral 

-Altar  of  Santa  Catalina,  Avila  Cathedral  . 

-Altar  in  the  Sacristy,  Avila  Cathedral 

-Typical  Palace  Doorway,  Avila    . 

-Patio  of  the  Palacio  del  AIarques  del  Arco,  Segovia 

-Wooden  Pulpit  in  Colegiata  of  Aranda  del  Duero 

-Pulpit  with   Alternating   Mudejar  and   Renaissance 
Panels,  Amusco,  near  Palencia       .... 

-Portal  Adjoining  the  Bishop's  Palace,  Plasencia 

-Palacio  del  Duque  de  San  Carlos,  Trujillo 

-Vaulting  of  the  Sacristy,  Siguenza  Cathedral     . 

-Detail  of  Stairway  in  the  Palacio  de  los  Duenas,  Me- 
dina del  Campo       ...... 

-Patio  of  the  Later  Mendoza  Palace,  Guadalajara 

-Pier  in  the  Convento  de  la  Piedad,  Guadalajara 

-Detail  of  Stone  Portal  in  the  Cathedral  of  Cuenca 

-House  in  Cuenca  ....... 

-Small  Iron  Reja  in  the  Cathedral  of  Cuenca 

-Patio  of  the  Palacio  Espejo,  Ciudad  Rodrigo 

-Plan  of  the  Ayuntamiento,  Seville 

-Detail  from  Doorway  of  the  Ayuntamiento,  Seville 

-Escutcheon  of  Seville  ox  Fa^.vde  of  the  Ayuntamiento 


144 
149 

150 
156 

157 
161 

162 
165 

166 
170 

174 
177 
179 

180 

182 

185 
190 
191 

192 

193 
194 
199 
200 
201 
202 
207 

215 

216 
218 


XX 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIGURE 

73- 
74-- 
75~ 
76.- 

77-— 
78.- 

79-- 

80.- 
81. 


05- 
84. 
85- 
86. 


88. 
89. 
90. 
91. 
92. 
93- 
94- 
95- 
96. 

97- 
98. 
99. 

100. 
loi. 
102. 


PAGE 

-Sculptural  Panel  from  FAgADE  of  the  Ayuntamiento  .  221 

-Ceiling  of  Vestibule  in  Ayuntamiento  of  Seville          ,  223 

-CusTODiA  IN  Seville  Cathedral      .....  228 

-Corner  Pinnacle  on  the  Giralda  Tower,  Seville          .  232 

-Panel  of  Azulejos  in  the  Casa  Pilatos,  Seville    .         .  239 

-Sunken  Patio  in  the  Casa  de  los  Venerables  Sacerdotes, 

Seville  .........  240 

-AzuLETO  Treatment  in  Gardens  of  the  Real  Alcazar, 

Seville  .........  245 

-Garden  in  the  Casa  Pilatos,  Seville     ....  249 

-"Wooden  Ceiling  in  the  Casa  del  Duoue  de  Alba,  Seville  254 

-Doorway  in  Upper  Cloister  of  the  Alba  House,  Seville  257 

-Detail  of  Patio  in  the  Sepulcro  de  los  Duques,  Osuna  .  261 

-Garden  Entrance  to  the  Sepulcro  de  los  Duques,  Osuna  262 

-Portal  of  the  Colegiata,  Osuna  .....  265 

-Detail  from  Tomb  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Granada  273 

-Detail  from   Tomb   of  Dona  Juana  and  Don  Felipe, 

Granada  .         .         ,         .         .         .         .         .278 

-Plan  of  the  Cathedral  of  Granada       ....  283 

-Ambulatory  Arch  in  Granada  Cathedral      .         .         .  285 

-Exterior  of  Granada  Cathedral           ....  286 

-CiMBORio  OF  San  Jeronimo,  Granada      ....  290 

-Casa  Castril,  Granada         ......  291 

-Entrance  to  the  Capilla  Real,  Granada   .         .         .  293 

-The  Lonja,  Granada    .......  294 

-Plan  of  Charles  V's  Palace,  Granada  .         .301 

-West  Facade  of  Charles  V's  Palace,  Granada  .         .  302 

-Patio  of  Charles  V's  Palace,  Granada                .         .  304 

-Ceiling  in  House  of  Luis  de  Cordova,  Granada     .         .  308 

-Ceiling  in  the  Apartments  Remodeled  for  Charles  V 

IN  the  Palace  of  the  Alhambra,  Granada       .         .312 

-Window  by  Jacopo  Florentino,  Cathedral  of  Murcia  .  315 

-Sketch  Plan  of  the  Mendoza  Castle  at  Lacalahorra  .  319 

-Patio  of  the  Castillo  de  Lacalahorra  ....  320 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


XXI 


FIGURE 

06.- 

08.- 
09.- 

10.— 

II.— 


-Doorway  ix  Upper  Cloister  of  the  Castillo  de  Lacala- 
HORRA       ...... 

-CUSTODIA  IX  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  JaEX 

-Patio  of  the  Casa  de  las  Torres,  Ubeda 
-Ayuxtamiexto,  Baeza    .... 

-IXTERIOR  of  CiMBORIO  OF  La  SeO,  ZaRAGOZA 

-SiLLERiA  IX  Cathedral  of  El  Pilar,   Zaragoza,   from 
A  Cast  ix  the  Museo  Provixcial      .... 

-Retablo  IX  Ruixed  Moxastery  of  Poblet 

-Portal  of  Saxta  Exgracia,  Zaragoza     .... 

-The  Cathedral  of  El  Pilar,  Zaragoza,  from  across  the 
Ebro       .....  ... 

12. — The  Loxja,  Zaragoza     ...  ... 

13.— Plax  of  the  Loxja,  Zaragoza    ..... 

14. — Ixterior  of  the  Loxja,  Zaragoza  .... 

15. — Woodex  Corxice  of  Moorish  Type,  Zaragoza 

16. — Small  House  ix  the  Calle  ^L\yor,  Zaragoza 

17. — "Woodex  Corxice  of  the  Casa  Coxsistorial,  Huesca 

18. — Stairway  ix  the  Palacio  de  Moxcado,  Barceloxa 

19. — Pulpit  in  Cathedral,  Palma  de  Mallorca 

20. — Stairway  ix  Small  House,  Palma 

21. — Stairway  ix  the  Casa  Palmarques,  Palma     . 

22. — Plax  of  the  Casa  Vivot,  Palma     ..... 

2},. — ^L\ix  Salox  of  the  O'Neil  House,  Palma 

24. — Patio  of  the  Casa  del  Marques  de  Vivot,  Palma  . 

25. — Plax  of  the  Casa  Oleza,  Palma     .... 

26. — WixDOW  IX  the  Casa  Villaloxga,  Palma 

27. — Extraxce  to  the  Burga-Zaforteza  House  ox  the  Borxe, 
Palma     ......... 

28. — Plax  of  Hospital  de  Sax  Juax  Bautista,  Toledo     . 

29. — Arcade  betweex  the  Two  Patios,  Hospital  de  Sax  Juax 
Bautista,  Toledo    ....... 


3^4 
327 
328 

332 
339 

340 
341 
342 

344 
346 

349 
350 
354 
359 
360 

364 
368 

370 
371 
375 
376 
379 
381 
382 

385 
393 

397 


XXll 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


130.- 

131- 
132- 
I33-- 
134- 
135- 
136.- 

137- 
138-- 
139- 
140.- 


-WixDow  IN"  THE  Hospital  de  San  Juan  Bautista,  Toledo 
-Plan  of  Real  Alcazar,  Toledo      .... 

-Patio  of  Real  Alcazar,  Toledo     .... 

-Detail  from  Entrance  to  Patio  of  the  Real  Alcazar 
-HospiT-\L  Provincial  (de  la  Sangre),  Seville 
-Palace  at  Saldanuela  ...... 

-South  Facade  of  Real  Monasterio,  Escorial 
-Dome  of  the  Monastery  Church,  Escorial  . 
-Interior  of  ^Monastery  Church,  Escorial     . 
-Small  Palace  by  Herreil\,  Plasencia    . 
-Patio  of  Lonja,  Seville         ..... 


PAGE 
398 

399 
401 
404 

405 

406 

417 
419 
423 
4^7 
429 


Spanish  Architecture  of  the  Sixteenth 

Century 


CHAPTER  I 

TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS 

THREE  HOSPITALS  BEGUN  BY  EGAS  IN  THE  EARLY  SIXTEENTH  CEN- 
TURY— TOLEDO  HOSPITAL  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT — INFLUENCE  OF  THE 
ARCHBISHOPS  OF  TOLEDO  IN  POLITICS  AND  ART — EL  GRAN  CARDENAL 
MENDOZA  AND  HIS  COLEGIO  IN  VALLADOLID — WHY  THE  RENAISSANCE 
ARRIVED   LATE    IN    SPAIN — IN    WHAT    PROVINCES    IT   FLOURISHED    AND    BY 

WHAT   MEANS  IT  WAS   PROPAGATED VARIOUS   ITALIANS  WHO  WORKED   IN 

SPAIN EGAS  AND  THE  CATALAN  GOLDSMITH — ORIGIN  OF  THE  TERM  PLAT- 

ERESCO PROBABLE    INFLUENCE    OF    THE     GENOESE    ARCHITECTS    AT    LA- 

CALAHORRA — VARIOUS    BUILDINGS    ATTRIBUTED   TO    EGAS THE   EARLIEST 

PLATERIA    SHOWING     THE     NEW    FORMS ANALYSIS    OF    THE    HOSPITAL    DE 

LA    SANTA  CRUZ — THE    TERM  ARTESONADO RESEMBLANCE   BETWEEN  THE 

STAIRWAY     OF    THE    HOSPITAL    AND    THAT    AT     LACALAHORRA THE     HOS- 
PITAL  REAL   AT    SANTIAGO  DE    COMPOSTELA EGAS's    SLIGHT    CONNECTION 

WITH   THE    HOSPITAL    AT   GRANADA EGAS    AND    HIS    SON-IN-LAW    COVAR- 

RUBIAS — DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE  IN  TOLEDO THE  MUDEJAR  STYLE — THE 

GRANITE  PORTALS  OF  TOLEDO  HOUSES 


Spanish  Architecture  of  the  Sixteenth 

Century 

CHAPTER  I 

TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS 

THE  first  sixteenth-century  architect  to  embody  in  a 
building  the  fragmentary  ideas  on  Renaissance  ar- 
chitecture which  were  then  circulating  through  Spain 
was  Enrique  de  Egas.  Egas,  who  was  maestro  mayor  of  the 
Gothic  cathedral  of  Toledo,  planned  three  great  hospitals  in 
the  new  style.  These  were  the  Santa  Cruz  in  Toledo,  built 
for  the  Archbishop  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza,  and  the  royal 
hospitals  in  Santiago  and  Granada  for  the  Catholic  Sovereigns, 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  For  all  three  structures  the  scheme 
was  practically  the  same.  The  Granada  building  was  the 
last  undertaken  and  soon  passed  into  other  hands,  but  those 
in  Toledo  and  Santiago  were  entirely  in  Egas's  charge  and 
may  be  considered,  in  spite  of  some  later  disfigurements,  as 
representative  of  his  conception  of  the  new  art — the  obra  del 
romano,  as  the  Spanish  were  then  calling  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance. The  Hospital  de  la  Santa  Cruz  (Plate  I),  begun  in 
1504,  was  the  most  important  architecturally  and  exerted  no 
small  influence  on  subsequent  efforts  in  Castile. 

That  a  Renaissance  structure  should  first  appear  in  Toledo 
and  be  sponsored  by  a  distinguished  prelate  was  entirely 
appropriate,  for  Toledo  was  the  chief  episcopal  city  of  Spain, 


4        SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

and  its  archbishops  practically  controlled  the  civilization  of 
the  whole  realm.  They  were  counselors  of  kings  and  leaders 
of  armies;  their  revenues  were  princely  and  they  fostered  the 
arts  and  sciences.  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza,  El  Gran  Carde7ial^ 
who  was  primate  when  Renaissance  art  began  to  penetrate 
Castile,  had  traveled  in  Italy  and  his  family  had  already  erected 
a  pretentious  residence,  the  Palacio  del  Infantado,  in  which  a 
few  Italian  motifs  appear.  The  cardinal  himself,  before 
determining  to  found  the  hospital  in  Toledo,  had  employed 
Enrique  de  Egas  to  build  a  Gothic  college  of  the  same  name 
in  Valladolid.  This  Colegio  de  la  Santa  Cruz  (1480-1492) 
is  often  cited  as  the  first  specimen  of  the  new  style  but  its 
Renaissance  touches  are  very  plainly  of  later  date;  the  entrance 
portal,  for  instance,  belongs  to  the  school  of  Francisco  de 
Colonia,  an  architect  who  did  not  begin  working  in  that  region 
until  after  1500  as  explained  in  Chapter  III. ^  The  Toledo  edifice 
on  the  contrary  was  really  designed  in  Renaissance  so  far  as  a 
Gothicist  understood  the  new  movement.  Although  the  build- 
ing was  not  commenced  until  1504  the  drawings  may  have  been 
made  before  1495,  the  year  of  the  princely  patron's  death. 
Queen  Isabella,  whom  he  had  solemnly  charged  to  carry  out 
his  plans,  chose  the  present  site  as  having  a  better  exposure 
than  the  one  he  had  designated  next  the  cathedral.  But  nearly 
a  decade  elapsed  before  the  work  actually  began.  Ten  years 
later,  while  far  from  finished,  it  came  to  a  standstill. 

Thus  in  the  center  of  inland  Castile,  in  the  venerable  city 
that  had  known  Roman,  Visigothic,  Arab,  Gothic,  and  Mude- 
jar  architecture,  the  first  faltering  piece  of  Spanish  Renais- 
sance rose  contemporaneous  with  the  sophisticated  palaces 
of  Peruzzi  and  Sangallo  in  Rome."*     In  other  words  the  Re- 

'  The  Medinaceli  Palace  at  Cogolludo  (Plate  XVI)  is  also  pointed  to  as  the  first 
Renaissance  building,  because  Philip  the  Fair  visited  it  in  1502;  but  here  too  the  Re- 
naissance portal  is  by  Colonia.  Other  writers  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  first 
monument  in  Spain  absolutely  free  from  Gothic  is  the  castle  at  Lacalahorra  (1509). 
This  is  true  enough,  but  the  castle  in  question  is  entirely  the  work  of  Italian  architects 
and  artizans  brought  from  Genoa  for  the  express  purpose  of  building  it  (see  page  316). 

»  Don  Antonio  Pons  in  his  Viage  de  Espana  (1772)  said  of  Toledo  that  it  was  "one  of 
the  Spanish  cities  in  which  the  greatest  and  best  works  were  executed,  where  the  fine 


** 


O 

Q 

W 

o 

Pi         ^ 

I  ^~ 


'^ 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS    7 

naissance  came  late  as  a  glance  at  history  will  show.  While 
the  coast  provinces  were  developing  an  active  commercial 
life  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  building  exchanges  and  maritime 
tribunals  such  as  the  fine  Gothic  Lonja  of  Palma  or  the  Con- 
sulado  del  Mar  of  Barcelona,  Castile,  still  battling  with 
Moorish  invaders,  needed  nothing  architecturally  but  those 
defensive  castles  from  which  it  took  its  name.  Back  in  the 
thirteenth  century  when  Leon  was  incorporated  with  it, 
Castile  was  proudly  termed  El  corazon  y  castillo  of  the  penin- 
sula; but  this  heart  and  stronghold  still  had  two  centuries  of 
warfare  and  bad  government  before  it,  and  consequently 
intellectual  progress  was  slow.  When  further  strengthened 
by  the  marriage  of  Isabella  of  Castile  with  her  cousin  and 
neighbor  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  (1474)  the  inland  provinces 
really  began  to  thrive.  These  two  progressive  rulers,  after 
lifting  Castilian  politics  out  of  a  state  of  chaos,  bent  every 
energy  on  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  who  still  held  the  king- 
dom of  Granada.  In  this  they  succeeded  in  1492.  Spain, 
after  having  endured  the  presence  of  Mohammedans  for 
nearly  eight  centuries,  was  at  last  all  Spanish.  The  national 
elation  was  tremendous  and  expressed  itself  in  magnificent 
churches  (these  true  to  the  Gothic  tradition).  Next  the 
sovereigns  lent  ear  to  Christopher  Columbus  who  made  them 
masters  of  an  unsuspected  world  across  the  Atlantic ;  and  within 
another  few  years  their  Gran  Capitdn,  Gonsalvo  de  Cordoba, 
recaptured  Naples.  Thus  Spain  with  incredible  rapidity  be- 
came a  power,  and  that  power  was  focused  in  Castile. 

Peace  at  home  and  conquest  abroad  naturally  quickened 
that  acquisition  of  culture  and  expansion  of  private  and  muni- 
cipal life  for  which  previous  conditions  had  not  been  favorable. 
Hidalgos  who  had  served  in  Italy  and  had  witnessed  the  refined 
life  of  the  Italian  aristocracy  abandoned  their  remote  ancestral 
seats  and  built  themselves  new  homes  in  the  towns.     Cities 


arts  were  reborn,  and  where  the  artificers  were  better  remunerated  than  elsewhere; 
and  this  not  only  during  and  since  the  reign  of  Charles  V  when  Covarrubias,  Berru- 
guete,  Juan  Bautista,  and  Herrera  flourished,  but  even  during  the  many  previous 
centuries."  Farther  on  he  laments  that  of  all  the  artists  who  helped  to  enrich  the  city 
by  their  labors  it  is  of  the  architects  that  the  scantiest  records  have  been  kept. 


8         SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

began  demanding  civic  structures  that  would  reflect  the 
growth  of  municipal  authority.  The  architects  of  these  new 
palaces,  city  halls,  colleges,  and  hospitals  turned  to  the  incom- 
ing Italian  art  for  inspiration.  Gothic  churches  also  played 
their  part  in  propagating  the  new  style  by  acquiring  furniture, 
tombs,  and  even  whole  new  dependencies,  whose  erection 
often  brought  to  a  remote  locality  Renaissance  workers  whose 
presence  was  taken  advantage  of  for  secular  building  as  well. 
Thus  the  style  appeared  spasmodically  and  in  widely  sepa- 
rated places,  answering  the  call  of  some  noble  or  prelate.  On 
the  Mediterranean  coast  where  it  had  a  good  start  while  the 
Valencian  Borjas  were  popes,  it  never  produced  any  important 
monuments;  partly  because  Spain's  prosperity  shifted  from 
Mediterranean  to  Atlantic  ports  after  the  discovery  of  America, 
and  partly  because  the  inability  of  the  Hapsburgs  to  grapple 
with  economic  problems  permitted  their  Cortes  to  impoverish 
Valencia  by  prohibiting  her  silk-weaving  and  to  interfere  with 
certain  exports  which  had  meant  considerable  wealth  to 
Barcelona.  The  Renaissance  likewise  made  small  progress 
in  Galicia,  Asturias,  and  the  Basque  provinces,  for  these  had 
all  been  left  high  and  dry  as  the  Reconquest  spread  south- 
ward. Therefore,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  outstanding 
examples,  the  study  of  Spanish  Renaissance  architecture  is 
the  study  of  work  done  in  Castile  and  the  newly  added  Anda- 
lusia whither  the  movement  was  carried  by  Castilian  architects 
and  sculptors. 

We  have  seen  that  Renaissance  drew  its  first  architect 
from  the  ranks  of  practicing  Gothicists;  and  as  there  is  no 
record  of  any  Spaniard  studying  in  Italy  until  a  quarter  of  a 
century  later,  the  question  arises  as  to  what  means  the  earliest 
men  had  of  acquainting  themselves  with  the  new  style.  Its 
transmission  is  ascribed,  aside  from  the  close  political  inter- 
course between  the  two  countries,  to  those  Italian  sculptors 
who  came  to  Spain  and  carved  retablos  and  sepulchres;  also 
to  the  importation  of  tombs  and  other  accessories  executed 
in  Italy  for  wealthy  Spaniards.  Far  back  in  the  fifteenth 
century  when  Flemish,  French,  and  German  artists  were 
still  coming  south  and  making  Burgos  their  first  stopping 


PLATE  II 


PATIO  OF  THE  HOSPITAL  DE  SANTA  CRUZ,  TOLEDO. 

Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  i $04-1 4. 

9 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       11 

place,  Italians  were  coming  west  to  Barcelona,  Valencia,  and 
]\Turcia.  As  early  indeed  as  1417  a  pupil  of  Lorenzo  Ghiberti 
was  working  in  Valencia  and  later  this  same  city,  when  its 
bishop  Rodrigo  Borja  became  Pope  Alexander  VI,  was  en- 
riched by  many  works  of  art  sent  back  by  him  from  Rome. 
All  through  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Italians 
continued  to  arrive  and  push  on  to  Castile,  and  for  every  one 
whose  name  has  been  preserved,  like  Giovanni  Moreto  who 
carved  retablos  and  tombs  in  Zaragoza  (Saragossa)  for 
nearly  fifty  years,  or  Giacopo  Fiorentino  who  built  in  Murcia 
and  Granada,  or  Fray  Niculoso  of  Pisa  who  painted  tiles  in 
Seville,  or,  greatest  of  all,  Domenico  Fancelli  who  made  the 
royal  tombs  at  Granada  and  Avila,  there  were  hosts  who  went 
unrecorded.  These  were  mostly  Lombards  who  worked  as 
assistants  to  Italian  or  Castilian  masters. 

For  the  early  established  and  flourishing  business  of  tomb- 
making  none  of  the  great  masters  came,  but  numbers  of  skilled 
carvers  from  the  active  and  widely  exploited  marble  ateliers 
of  Carrara.  It  is  well  known  how  these  when  they  invaded 
France  brought  working  models  consisting  of  plaster  casts, 
drawings,  small  terra  cottas  and  stuccos,  and  how  they  formed 
themselves  into  a  number  of  ambulatory  ateliers.  As  the 
astute  contractors  of  Carrara  and  Genoa  kept  in  touch  with 
building  enterprises  everywhere  they  undoubtedly  sent  similar 
equipment  to  Toledo  where  the  archbishops  were  constantly 
aggrandizing  the  cathedral.  Marcel  Dieulafoy  in  his  Art  in 
Spain  and  Portugal  makes  one  Italian-trained  goldsmith  re- 
sponsible for  Egas's  Renaissance  training.  This  was  a  Cata- 
lan named  Pedro  Diez  who,  on  his  return  from  Rome  about 
1458,  was  called  to  Toledo  and  there  "acquired  such  ascen- 
dancy in  the  workshops  of  the  cathedral  that  Enrique  Egas, 
son  of  the  master  of  the  works,  came  entirely  under  his  influ- 
ence. Thus  we  find  a  piatero  connected  with  the  evolution 
of  pointed  architecture;  hence  the  term  Plateresco  applied  in 
Spanish  to  the  individual  styles  of  the  reigns  of  Joanna  the 
Mad  and  her  son  the  Emperor  Charles  (1504-1558)."  But 
the  obscure  question  of  how  Egas  acquired  his  Renaissance 
knowledge  cannot  be  dismissed  so  simply.     At  the  time  the 


12       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Catalan  goldsmith  came  to  Toledo,  Enrique  (d.  1534)  must 
have  been  a  mere  infant  and  still  in  Burgos  where  his  father, 
the  Brussels  architect  Annequin  de  Egas  (Jan  van  der  Eyken), 
worked  before  he  was  called  to  Toledo.  But  no  matter  how 
young  Enrique  was  when  he  learned  the  new  style  he  kept 
practicing  Flemish  Gothic  until  he  built  the  hospitals  to  be 
discussed  here.  As  to  the  christening  of  what  the  Spaniards 
believed  to  be  Italian  architecture,  that  did  not  take  place 
until  the  seventeenth  century  when  Zufiiga,  the  annalist  of 
Seville,  coined  the  phrase  "fantasias  platerescas"  to  describe 
buildings  of  the  preceding  century.  Egas  and  his  contem- 
poraries called  their  work  obra  del  romano,  or  el  arte  viejo 
(the  old  art). 

That  this  tyro  in  the  new  style  met  itinerant  Italians  after 
coming  to  Toledo  is  not  to  be  doubted;  but  there  was  another 
and  more  definite  influx  to  which  he  may  also  have  owed 
something.  This  was  the  group  of  Genoese  and  Lombard 
builders  who  were  specially  imported  in  1509  to  erect  the  castle 
at  Lacalahorra  near  Granada  for  Don  Rodrigo  de  Mendoza, 
son  of  the  Great  Cardinal.  Egas  while  at  work  on  his  Toledo 
hospital  was  also  employed  in  Granada  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  heard  of,  and  perhaps  even  visited,  the  much 
discussed  Italian  palace.  That  he  studied  the  classic  ruins 
so  numerous  in  Spain  there  is  not  the  slightest  reason  to  be- 
lieve. Like  many  another  artist  whose  life  and  work  are 
only  Imperfectly  known  he  has  been  accredited  with  several 
more  or  less  improbable  productions.  Some  writers,  unwilling 
to  admit  that  he  could  have  built  his  hospitals  without-passing 
through  a  transitional  stage,  ascribe  to  him  the  curious  Colegio 
de  San  Gregorio  in  Valladolid.  This,  like  the  unlovely  Men- 
doza palace  in  Guadalajara  and  the  Benavente  in  Baeza,  is 
generally  considered  typically  Spanish  but  is  in  reality  the 
extravagant  expression  of  some  newly  arrived  Fleming  en- 
amored of  Moorish  richness  and  bent  on  incorporating  It  with 
decadent  Gothic — the  same  elements,  by  the  way,  which  pro- 
duced the  Manueline  style  In  Portugal.  Egas  may  have  seen 
the  germ  of  an  idea  in  these  extraordinary  facades  but  his 
authentic   productions  are  of  much  greater  refinement.     Re- 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       13 

garding  the  University  of  Salamanca  in  which  others  pretend 
to  see  his  hand  one  may  reason  in  quite  the  opposite  direc- 
tion; it  is  too  sophisticated.  As  master  of  the  royal  works  he 
may  have  been  commissioned  to  make  designs  for  it  late  in 


Fig.  I — Plan  of  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz,  Toledo. 
•  Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  1504-14. 

the  fifteenth  century,  but  the  one  followed  and  completed 
about  1530  reveals  nothing  of  him.  Turning  to  his  authentic 
work  as  seen  in  the  hospital  in  Toledo  it  shows  that  he,  unlike 
the  Florentine  Brunelleschi,  did  not  see  in  the  revival  of 
classic  an  organic  change  affecting  the  plan  itself  (see  Fig.  i). 
As  a  thorough  Gothicist  he  might  have  been  expected  to  show 
an  interest  in  the  problems  of  vaulting  which  had  so  engrossed 
the  early  Italians;  but  the  fact  is  that  for  his  Renaissance 
experiments  he  clung  to  the  carpentry  ceilings  of  the  Moors 


14        SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

and  was  content  to  accept  the  Renaissance  as  a  new  set  of 
motifs  to  be  engrafted  onto  medieval  principles — it  has  always 
been  true  that  decorative  themes  have  been  propagated  much 
more  quickly  than  methods  of  construction. 

The  result  of  Spanish  effort  to  build  in  the  Italian  style 
is  both  interesting  and  novel  and  is  best  described  by  its 
native  name  of  Plateresco.  This  implies  a  resemblance  to  the 
work  of  the  silversmith  or  platero  in  scale  and  delicacy  of 
execution  but  does  not  mean  that  the  Spanish  architect 
followed  the  silversmith's  lead  in  the  use  of  Renaissance  motifs; 
for  the  earliest  church  vessels,  that  is,  important  pieces  such  as 
custodias,  chalices,  or  processional  crosses  in  which  such 
forms  are  to  be  found,  are  posterior  to  Egas's  experiments 
(see  Figs.  2  and  3).  Nor  were  the  first  Spaniards  who  prac- 
ticed Plateresque  recruited  from  the  goldsmiths'  shops  as  in 
Florence  nearly  a  century  before.  They  were  Gothic  architects 
and  sculptors  who  changed  their  style  as  opportunity  presented 
itself,  but  who  saw  the  new  from  the  ornamentalist's  point 
of  view  rather  than  the  builder's. 

Analyzing  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz  we  find  that  it  is 
eclectic  in  design  showing  Renaissance,  Gothic,  and  Mudejar 
elements,  especially  in  the  various  methods  of  roofing;  these 
comprise  Gothic  stone  vaulting,  artesonados,^  and  the  open 
truss  construction  of  the  Moors.  Fig.  i  shows  the  plan  to 
be  based  on  the  Maltese  cross,  the  cardinal's  emblem,  which 
also  appears  repeatedly  in  the  ornament.  The  arms  of  the 
immense  cross,  along  with  the  proposed  equilateral  facades, 
were  to  embrace  four  corner  patios;  but  of  this  ambitious 
scheme  only  the  cross  itself,  one  patio,  and  a  portion  of  the 
south  facade  were  ever  built.  This  unfortunately  was  the 
fate  of  too  many  grandiose  projects  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  the  present  example  it  is  the  facade  that  suffers  most, 
from  incompletion,  for  it  terminates  abruptly  a  few  feet  west 

'  Artesonado  from  arteson  meaning  a  wooden  kneading-trough  or  tub.  The  term 
was  applied  to  all  coffered  ceilings  whether  flat  or  vaulted  in  section,  each  sunken  coffer 
with  its  surrounding  mouldings  suggesting  the  arteson.  By  extension,  all  wooden  ceil- 
ings are  called  artesonados  though  those  not  built  up  of  coffers  are  more  accurately 
referred  to  as  techumbres.  In  the  making  and  decorating  of  these  the  Moors  particularly 
excelled  (see  page  i8). 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       i.> 

of  what  was  to  be  the  central  motif;  yet  despite  the  loss  of 
balance  the  effect  is  impressive.  Fenestration  is  reduced  to 
a  minimum  thus  expressing  that  the  interior  derives  its  Hght 
and   air  from   the  patio.     On  the  doorway  and  windows   is 


Fig.  2 — Silver  Custo- 
dia  in  the  Colegiata  at 
CovaiTubias. 

Plater 0  Unknown. 


Fig.  3 — Gold  and  Silver  Custodia 
in  the  Royal  Monastery  of  Silos, 
dated  1527. 

Platero  Unknown. 


concentrated  a  wealth  of  delicate  ornament  carved  in  marble. 
The  contrast  of  this  with  the  severe  granite  walls  in  which  it 
is  inserted  is  striking.  The  central  motif  shows  how  much 
more  conversant  Egas  was  with  the  new  forms  than  with  the 
manner  of  using  them  as  witness  the  awkwardly  bent  columns 
over  the  arch;  and  yet  he  must  have  had  Italian  assistants  on 
the  spot,  for  certain  details,  the  door  architrave  for  instance 


16       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

(Fig.  4),  are  such  pure  Lombard  that  nothing  so  conventional 
and  true  to  type  was  done  later  when  style  and  workmen  had 
become  acclimatized.  Crowding  the  doorway  are  two  Lom- 
bard windows  flanked  by  colonnettes  similar  to  those  at  Laca- 


FiG,  4 — Detail  from  the  Portal  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Hospital,  Toledo. 
Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  1504-14. 

lahorra.  They  again  appear  in  the  Hospital  Real  at  Granada 
and,  in  fact,  remained  in  high  favor  throughout  the  entire 
Plateresque  period.  The  Santa  Cruz  front  having  never 
been  altered  by  succeeding  architects  is  an  interesting  record 
of  how  Egas,  at  a  time  when  the  Italians  were  applying  the 
orders  to  the  facade,  saw  it  as  an  uncompromising  wall  of 
masonry  relieved  only  by  a  few  spots  of  rich  ornament. 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       17 

The  hospital  was  to  contain,  besides  the  sick  and  found- 
lings, a  nursing  sisterhood  with  their  casa  conventual  and  a 
chapel.  This  last  Egas  intended  placing  in  the  intersection 
of  the  cross  but  abandoned  the  idea;  perhaps  because  he  had 


Fig.  5 — Interior  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Hospital,  Toledo. 
Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  ij 04-14. 

been  gaining  experience  meanwhile  on  the  Santiago  building 
which  he  was  carrying  on  at  the  same  time.  At  any  rate  he 
added  a  bay  to  the  north  arm  to  receive  the  high  altar,  an 
advantageous  change,  as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  two 
plans.  The  straightforwardness  of  the  Toledo  interior  is 
striking  as  one  passes  from  the  vestibule  and  meets  a  clear 
sweep  of  nearly  300  feet.  At  the  crossing  (Fig.  5)  is  a  lofty 
well  with  Gothic  vaulting  (the  lantern  is  eighteenth-century) 
and  Gothic  piers,  but  these  have  a  Renaissance  interruption 


18       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

at  the  second  story  level  where  they  are  built  out  to  permit 
passage  from  one  arm  to  another. 

In  all  the  great  halls  the  ceilings  are  of  wood,  paneled  on 
the  first  story  and  of  open  construction  with  coupled  trusses 
on  the  second.  The  solidity  obtained  in  these  Spanish  frame- 
ceilings  is  remarkable;  covered  with  six  or  eight  inches  of  sand 
or  cement  as  a  bed  for  the  tile  flooring  above,  they  have,  even 
in  the  greatest  spans,  all  the  substantiality  of  masonry  vault- 
ing. The  paneling  of  the  artesonado  was  not  merely  applied 
to  the  frame,  but  the  latter  had  to  be  actually  designed  to 
receive  it.  The  system  was  a  Moorish  inheritance  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  Egas's  carpinteros  were  all  Mudejares  (con- 
quered Moors).  The  wood  employed  is  a  coarse-grained 
pine,  well  oiled,  and  it  is  on  record  that  it  was  the  first 
brought  down  the  Tagus  from  the  pine-covered  slopes  of  the 
Serrania  de  Cuenca. 

By  the  time  the  patio  was  reached  Egas  was  more  familiar 
with  the  new  style  and  one  finds  few  traces  of  Gothic  (see 
Plate  II).  The  parapet  of  the  second  story  (Fig.  6)  is  a 
survival  which  may  have  been  deliberately  preferred  to  the 
monumental  balustrade,  which  feature  was  slow  of  acceptance 
in  Spain.  The  staircase  (Plate  III)  aimed  to  be  entirely 
Renaissance,  and  in  it  the  charming  tentativeness  of  the 
facade  is  again  recovered.  For  some  time  previous  the  Span- 
ish had  been  giving  more  emphasis  to  the  staircase  than  other 
Gothic  architects;  they  had  brought  it  out  from  the  turret 
and  enclosing  walls  and  made  it  an  architectural  adjunct  to 
the  patio.  This  claustral  stair,  connecting  the  upper  and 
lower  galleries  or  cloistered  walks  of  the  patio,  was  built 
around  an  open  well  in  contrast  to  the  enclosed  stair  so  long 
retained  in  Florence  and  Rome.  It  happens  that  the  stair- 
way at  Lacalahorra  (see  Plate  LXI),  although  built  by  Ital- 
ians, was  of  this  Spanish  type,  for  the  architects  were  Genoese 
and  remembered  the  sumptuous  stairs  leading  from  street  to 
terrace  level  in  the  hillside  palaces  of  their  own  city.  Many 
similarities  of  form  and  detail  would  indicate  that  their  work, 
so  closely  according  with  the  Spanish  tradition,  supplied  Egas 
with  his  incentive.     Each  comprises  three  bays  of  the  patio, 


PLATE  III 


STAIRWAY :  HOSPITAL 
DE  5ANTA  CR.VZ 
TOLEDO 


no  1^  3  <  >  «  ^  ">  FEET 


SECTION  THROUGH  STAIRWAY  OF  THE  HOSPITAL  DE  SANTA  CRUZ,  TOLEDO. 
Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  1504-14. 


19 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       21 

each  has  two  landings,  and  each  has  the  same  balustrade  and 
base  moulds.  Yet  the  Toledo  presents  several  original  expres- 
sions not  to  be  found  in  the  other,  such  as  the  carved  rustica- 
tion and  the  almost  unmodified  Gothic  newel  post  (see  Plate 


Fig.  6 — Upper  Story  of  Patio  of  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Cruz,  Toledo. 
Enriqiie  de  Egas,  Architect,  1504-14. 

IV).  In  the  construction  of  the  balustrade  is  a  peculiarity 
which,  if  Egas  really  saw  and  examined  the  Genoese  work, 
would  be  difficult  to  account  for.  Utterly  ignoring  Renaissance 
constructive  methods  he  continued  to  regard  stereotomy 
from  the  Gothic  viewpoint;  the  balustrade,  for  instance,  while 
appearing  to  be  built  up  of  separately  carved  balusters  in  the 
normal  way  is  in  reality  a  succession  of  pierced  slabs,  each 
group  of  three  or  four  verticals  being  carved  from  a  single 
block.  The  connecting  piece  at  the  center,  common  to  all 
early  Spanish  balustrades,  is  consequently  a  tie-piece  incident 


22         SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

to  this  peculiar  manner  of  constructing.  To  further  augment 
the  difticult  task  of  stone-cutting  the  markings  of  each  unit 
follow  the  rake  of  the  stair.  How  unnecessarily  laborious 
all  this  was  did  not  occur  even  to  Egas's  followers,  for  it  was 
repeated  at  Alcala  by  his  son-in-law  Covarrubias  (see  Frontis- 
piece) and  later  in  the  Duenas  palace  in  Medina  del  Campo 
(Fig.  63).  Similarly  slighted  was  the  question  of  intersec- 
tions and  continuity  of  mouldings;  elaborately  carved  courses 
of  differing  profiles  meet  in  haphazard  fashion.  This  defect 
cannot  be  put  down  to  ignorance  for  in  the  artesonado  above 
the  stair  far  more  difficult  intersections  are  solved  with  con- 
summate nicety.  Yet  with  all  its  crudities  this  parent  stair 
was  worthy  of  the  appreciation  it  received  in  its  day  from 
Castilian  architects.  There  is  an  attractiveness  even  in  its 
faulty  detail,  while  the  whole  scheme,  including  the  artesonado 
and  the  relation  to  upper  and  lower  cloisters,  is  characterized 
by  a  certain  grandeur. 

The  Hospital  de  la  Santa  Cruz  is  not  easy  to  appraise  in 
its  present  condition.  After  serving  for  centuries  as  a  found- 
ling asylum,  and  with  never  an  expenditure  for  repairs,  it 
was  handed  over  to  the  orphans  of  artillery  officers.  In  1887 
another  and  much  more  disastrous  change  was  made — it 
became  a  military  academy.  It  is  now  undergoing  thorough 
restoration  after  which  it  will  house  the  provincial  museum. 

In  1 501  or  1502,  that  is,  while  the  Mendoza  plan  was  still 
in  abeyance,  the  same  architect  designed  a  similar  hospital 
for  the  city  of  Santiago  de  Compostela  in  Galicia.  In  that  re- 
mote spot  where  St.  James  (Santiago)  the  Greater  was  sup- 
posed to  be  buried,  a  magnificent  church  had  been  erected 
to  which  thousands  of  pilgrims  streamed  annually.  In  1498 
the  bishop  complained  that  many  of  these,  ill  or  exhausted 
by  the  journey,  lay  for  days  on  the  church  floor  for  lack  of 
proper  accommodation,  and  urged  their  Majesties  to  con- 
struct a  pilgrims'  hospital.  Egas,  master  of  the  royal  works, 
was  ordered  to  prepare  a  plan.  He  went  to  work  on  the  same 
general  lines  as  at  Toledo.  The  Santiago  structure  (Plate  V) 
was  carried  to  a  conclusion  (though  not  all  of  it  in  his  lifetime) 
and  offers  better  opportunity  than  the  Toledo  to  grasp  the 


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25 


TOLEDO  -VXD  THE  \YORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       27 

bigness  of  the  scheme.  The  facade  has  suffered  the  addition 
of  a  seventeenth-century  balcony  and  a  re-ornamentation  of 
three  of  the  windows;  but  one  can  still  see  how  the  architect 
limited  the  decoration  of  his  long  granite  front  to  five  units 
— the  central  doorway  and  two  windows  each  side  of  it. 

A  characteristic  feature  is  the  rich  cornice  built  up  of  a 
series  of  unorthodox  mouldings.  It  was  to  be  expected  of  the 
pronounced  individuality  of  the  Spaniard  that  he  could  not 
accept  the  Italian's  devotion  to  beauty  for  its  own  sake,  but 
would  introduce  elements  that  answered  to  his  craving  for 
realism.  And  so  Egas,  without  even  trying  to  understand 
the  systematized  classic  cornice,  introduced  the  Moorish 
chains  from  which  his  royal  patrons  had  freed  Christian  cap- 
tives, in  the  same  personal  spirit  as  he  introduced  the  emblem 
of  Archbishop  Mendoza  in  the  Toledo  cornice;  he  could  not 
break  absolutely  with  Gothic  and  its  story-telling  themes. 
The  Santiago  portal  (Plate  VI),  which  has  never  been  tam- 
pered with,  is  a  Gothic  composition  ornamented  in  Plater- 
esque;  it  therefore  has  none  of  the  abortions  noted  in  the 
attempted  Renaissance  composition  at  Toledo,  but  is  an 
extremely  successful  blending  of  the  two  styles.  Extending 
through  two  stories  it  is  like  an  immense  retablo  or  reredos 
brought  from  the  altar  and  applied  to  the  exterior.  The 
row  of  the  twelve  disciples  above  the  arch  and  also  the 
saints  in  niches  are  frankly  Gothic;  but  just  as  frankly  Plat- 
eresque  are  the  arabesque  panels  of  the  storied  pilasters  and 
the  candelabra  cresting.  There  is  nothing  here  as  purely 
Italian  as  the  architrave  of  the  Santa  Cruz  (and  even  had 
such  been  contemplated  it  would  have  been  obviated  by  the 
coarseness  of  the  stone)  but  the  door  on  the  whole  displays 
a  much  finer  sense  of  composition. 

The  interior  (see  Fig.  7)  suffers  from  the  placing  of  the 
chapel  in  the  crossing;  this,  besides  robbing  the  plan  of  spa- 
ciousness, makes  communication  possible  only  through  the 
patios.  It  seems  logical  to  infer  that  this  had  been  done 
before  the  same  stage  was  reached  in  the  Toledo  building, 
hence  the  abandonment  of  a  similar  arrangement  there;  and 
if   further   evidence    were    wanting    of    the    architect's    dis- 


28       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

satisfaction  with  the  original  scheme,  it  might  be  found  in  the 
Granada  hospital  which  we  know  was  not  begun  until  several 
years  later  and  where  the  crossing  is  again  unblocked.  The 
stairways  at  Santiago  are  enclosed  between  walls,  probably 


J2°FEET 


Fig.  7 — Plan  of  the  Hospital  Real,  Santiago  de  Compostela. 
Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  1501-11. 

because  of  the  raw  climate,  leaving  the  patios  to  claim  all  at- 
tention. Of  these  the  two  forward,  left  and  right  of  the  main 
entrance,  show  a  great  advance  in  the  manipulation  of  the 
new  style,  as  seen  in  Fig.  8.  The  setting  out  of  the  design, 
with  two  openings  over  one,  recalls  the  cloister  of  Santa  Maria 
della  Pace  in  Rome  by  Bramante.  It  is  interesting  to  specu- 
late whether  Egas  knew  of  the  recently  finished  Italian  work 
(1504)  or  whether  he  evolved  the  motif  from  Gothic  prece- 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS 


29 


dent.  The  latter  might  well  be  the  case  considering  that 
there  is  no  reminiscence  of  Bramante's  purer  classic  in  the 
treatment  of  the  detail.  The  lower  openings  are  high  and 
graceful,  supported  on  attenuated  pilasters  with  Renaissance 


Fig.  8 — Patio  of  the  Hospital  Real,  Santiago  de  Compostela. 
Enrique  de  Egas,  Architect,  1501-11. 


caps  above  which  the  archivolt  mouldings  interlace — a  capri- 
cious note  often  encountered  in  Plateresque.  The  upper  and 
more  ornate  story  presents  some  curious  liberties  in  the  pro- 
files of  mouldings  but  this  is  apparent  only  on  close  examina- 
tion. All  the  work  is  executed  in  a  coarse  gray  stone,  yet 
has  the  lightness  and  quality  of  terra  cotta  in  its  design. 
According  to  the  Latin  inscription  over  the  portal,  the  Hospi- 


30      SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

tal  Real  was  erected  between  1501  and  15 11,  but  the  earlier 
date  may  refer  to  the  year  when  royal  sanction  was  given  while 
the  actual  work  may  not  have  commenced  until  several  years 
later.  The  two  patios  due  to  Egas  give  every  evidence  of 
being  posterior  to  the  one  at  Toledo;  the  remaining  two  date 
from  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  Hospital  Real  at  Granada  which  will  be  taken  up  in 
Chapter  X  is  later.  Though  founded  and  richly  endowed 
by  Queen  Isabella  shortly  before  her  death  in  1504  it  was  not 
started  until  1511;  soon  after,  the  work  stopped  and  when  it 
was  resumed  in  Charles  V's  reign  another  architect  was  ap- 
pointed. The  most  admirable  feature  about  it  is  the  same 
cruciform  plan  seen  in  Toledo  and  Santiago. 

Reviewing  the  Renaissance  work  of  Enrique  de  Egas  one 
sees  that  its  author  had  no  such  heretical  thought  as  a  complete 
break  with  the  preceding  style.  He  was  too  saturated  in 
ecclesiastical  methods  where  the  old  traditions  still  prevailed 
to  shake  off  their  influence;  and  even  had  this  not  been  the 
case  he  was  too  imperfectly  informed  in  the  foreign  art  to 
follow  all  its  conventions.  His  productions  in  the  new  field 
must  therefore  be  regarded  as  experimental — merely  tentative, 
yet  with  their  own  character  and  interest.  Not  one  of  them 
was  completed  within  or  without  by  him  so  that  it  is  for  the 
fruits  they  bore  rather  than  for  themselves  that  one  studies 
them.  What  Egas  accomplished  in  Renaissance  was  to  de- 
monstrate to  others  the  possibility  of  combining  the  new 
ornament  with  Spanish  traditions  and  evolving  therefrom 
something  distinctive  and  racial. 

Hardly  any  details  are  known  concerning  this  most  famous 
member  of  a  family  prominent  for  generations  in  Spanish 
architecture  and  sculpture;  but  we  may  accept  him  as  a 
thorough  Spaniard.  He  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  long 
life  in  that  intensely  racy  capital  which,  half  a  century  later, 
so  cast  its  spell  over  a  Greek  painter  that  he  became  more 
Spanish  than  the  natives  themselves.  Considering  that 
Egas  worked  in  Toledo  from  about  1480  till  his  death  in  1534, 
and  that,  as  visiting  architect,  he  was  present  at  some  time 
or  other  in  every  great  building  center,  his  influence  must 


PLATE  VI 


PORTAL  OF  THE  HOSPITAL  REAL,  SANTIAGO  DE  COMPOSTELA. 
Enriqiie  de  Egas,  Architect,  i^oi-ii. 

31 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       33 

have  been  far-reaching.  One  cannot  resist  picturing  the 
doughty  old  artist  making  his  Toledo  home  a  focus  for  the 
talented  youth  of  the  day,  a  conjecture  that  borrows  prob- 
ability from  the  fact  that  his  three  sons  were  respectively 


Fig.  9 — Plan  of  the  Casa  del  Greco,  Toledo  (Restored). 


sculptor,  painter,  and  architect,  and  that  his  only  daughter 
married  the  man  whose  work  is  most  closely  related  to  that 
of  the  maestro  mayor — who  followed  him,  in  fact,  in  that 
post  as  will  be  seen  in  the  next  chapter.  This  son-in-law, 
Alonso  de  Covarrublas,  may  be  accepted,  so  far  as  certain 
phases  of  the  first  period  are  concerned,  as  Egas's  logical 
successor. 

It  would  be  perfectly  reasonable  to  look  for  an  abundant 
efflorescence  of  Renaissance  palaces  in  the  rich  city  where  the 
style  had  received  such  distinguished  patronage;  but  it  hap- 
pened that  in  the  field  of  domestic  architecture  there  was 
something  stronger  to  be  reckoned  with  than  the  sanction  of 
a  primate,  and  that  was  local  tradition.  Toledo  was  a  Mude- 
jar  city.  In  it  the  Moorish  type  of  civilization  flourished 
long  after  the  city  had  passed  into  Christian  hands,  and  the 


84       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

fact  is  nowhere  more  evident  than  in  its  domestic  buildings. 
The  artizans  were  Asiatics — Moors  and  Jews;  and  not  only 
the  house,  but  nearly  all  the  objects  in  it — furniture,  fabrics, 
utensils — were  of  their  making.     These  un-European  crafts- 


FiG.  lo — Reproduction  of  a  Sixteenth-Century  Chimneypiece  in  a 

Toledo  House. 


men  were  given  a  free  hand  and  worked  along  unaffected 
by  new  styles  that  came  from  without,  except  when  employed 
on  Christian  churches.  What  they  produced  for  Christian 
masters  is  known  in  Spain  as  the  Estilo  Mudejar.  The  latter 
word  is  derived  from  the  Arab  mudejalat,  meaning  subdued, 
and  was  applied  to  those  infidels,  mainly  Moors,  who  remained 
in  any  district  after  it  had  been  conquered  by  the  Christians. 
These  industrious  Mudejares,  with  their  superior  skill  in  the 
arts  and  trades,  found  ready  employment  everywhere  until 
the  time  came  when  economic  considerations  could  no  longer 
prevail  against  race  hatred  and  religious  bigotry.  The  Jews 
were  expelled  in  1492;  and  in  1499  Cardinal  Cisneros  decreed 


PLATE  VII 


PATIO  OF  THE  CAS  A  DEL  GRECO,  TOLEDO  (RESTORED). 

3.5 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS       37 

that  the  Moors  must  either  follow  them  or  embrace  Christian- 
ity. Only  a  small  portion  accepted  the  bitter  alternative 
of  baptism  and  even  these,  called  Moriscos,  were  in  time 
expelled.  With  the  exodus  of  the  Moriscos  there  passed  out 
of  Spanish  architecture  its  most  distinctive  note. 

The  Mudejar  style  in  which  they  had  been  such  a  neces- 
sary factor  may  be  roughly  described  as  the  combination  of 
Moorish  ornamentation  with  Christian  plan  and  structure; 
but  in  truth  the  Moor  asserted  himself  in  far  more  than  orna- 
ment. Certain  building  methods  for  roofs,  ceilings,  and  floors 
were  wholly  his  and  even  prevailed  for  centuries  after  his 
expulsion.  The  term^  Mudejar  is  naturally  elastic,  for  the 
Christian  element  in  it  may  be  in  the  form  of  a  Romanesque 
church  like  Santo  Tome  in  Toledo,  a  medieval  fortress  like 
the  castle  of  Coca,  or  a  mixed  Gothic  and  Plateresque  palace 
like  the  Infantado,  at  Guadalajara.  Sometimes,  though  rarely 
outside  of  Andalusia,  the  balance  of  plan  and  structure  is 
Moorish;  this  is  the  case  in  the  Alba  palace  in  Seville  (see 
Plate  XLIX)  which  is  an  amplification  of  an  Arab  house,  with 
Renaissance  columns  and  capitals  in  the  patios.  Mudejar, 
like  the  Asiatic  architecture  it  sprang  from,  rarely  concerned 
itself  with  the  quarrying  and  laying  up  of  impressive  stone;  in- 
stead small  units  such  as  were  provided  by  burnt  clay  products 
were  its  preferred  materials.  To  regard  Mudejar  as  a  mere 
transitional  phase  or  a  mere  superficial  treatment  is  a  mis- 
take. When  Moorish  skill  and  personality  in  ornament  were 
combined  with  Christian  architectural  structurability,  the 
result  was  a  definite  style,  exhibiting  proper  congruity  of 
forms  with  materials.  The  castle  of  the  Fonsecas  at  Coca, 
one  of  the  finest  examples  of  military  architecture  in  Europe, 
is  as  undeniably  Mudejar  as  Burgos  Cathedral  is  Gothic. 
For  interiors  the  style  offers  considerable  charm,  particu- 
larly in  its  last  or  Plateresque  manifestation.  Its  ceilings 
of  wood,  floors  of  tiles,  and  walls  of  carved  plaster  are  among 
the  most  decorative  ever  devised  for  domestic  work  (as  de- 
scribed in  the  Seville  chapter,  pages  236-250)  and  probably 
would  be  more  often  used  if  better  understood. 

To  return  to  Toledo,  it  was  in  this  hybrid   architecture 


S8       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

that  most  of  its  parish  churches  and  convents  were  built, 
including  the  two  synagogues  erected  by  the  prematurely 
grateful  Jews  as  thank-offerings  for  royal  protection,  and  then 
turned  into  Christian   churches  after  their  expulsion.     Also 


Fig.  II — Typical  Granite  Doorway,  Toledo. 


in  Mudejar  were  the  Toledo  residences  with  their  almost 
windowless  facades  which  presented  but  one  note  of  interest, 
the  stone  portal.  This  one  note  is  so  distinctive  that  it  de- 
serves a  brief  word.  Like  the  entrances  in  Avila  and  Estrema- 
dura  it  is  of  granite  and  the  very  material  has  imposed  a 
certain  sobriety  and  solidity  which  might  almost  pass  for 
Roman.  Its  post  and  lintel  construction  of  impressive  dimen- 
sions frames  a  huge  wooden  door  studded  with  nailheads 
(see  Fig.  ii).  The  stonework  is  an  adaptation  of  classic 
principles — engaged   columns   with   crude   capital,   expansive 


TOLEDO  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS      39 

lintel  flanked  by  coarse  corbels,  and  the  whole  often  surmounted 
by  a  relieving  arch.  Many  of  the  Toledan  entrances  are 
actually  built  up  of  Visigothic  fragments.  The  type  was 
adhered  to  until  the  eighteenth  century,  unmodified  by  closer 
acquaintance  with  the  Renaissance.  Whatever  of  the  new 
style  crept  into  the  patios  of  Toledo  was  likewise  of  local 
interpretation,  nor  is  there  enough  of  it  to  take  domestic 
work  out  of  the  category  of  Mudejar. 


CHAPTER  II 

COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA 

ALONSO    DE    COVARRUBIAS — THE    COMPETITION    FOR    THE    CAPILLA    DE 

LOS     REYES     NUEVOS COVARRUBIAS     APPOINTED     MAESTRO     MAYOR     OF 

TOLEDO    CATHEDRAL    IN    1 534    AND    LATER    APPOINTMENT    AS    MASTER    OF 

ROYAL    WORKS — DESCRIPTION    OF   HIS    CHAPEL    OF   THE    NEW    KINGS HIS 

PORTAL    TO    THE    CAPILLA    DE    SAN    JUAN — ALCALA    DE    HENARES    AND    ITS 

RELATION  TO  TOLEDO DON  ALONSO  DE  FONSECA,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  TOLEDO, 

ORDERS  THE  REMODELING  OF  THE  ARCHIEPISCOPAL  PALACE  AT  ALCALA — 

LAS   MEDIDAS   DEL   ROMANO    AND    ITS    DEDICATION DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

archbishop's  PALACE — BERRUGUETE's  SCULPTURE  IN  THE  PATIO — 
MARKED  TENDENCY  TOWARDS  REALISM  IN  SPANISH  ORNAMENT — REPE- 
TITION OF  EGAS'S  STAIRWAY  AT  TOLEDO MAGNIFICENT  SERIES  OF  ARTESO- 

NADOS  IN  THE  PALACE THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ALCALA  FOUNDED  BY  CARDINAL 

JIMENEZ  DE  CISNEROS  AND  BUILT  BY  PEDRO  GUMIEL — ITS  NEW  FACADE 
BY  RODRIGO  GIL  DE  ONTANON THE  ESCUTCHEON  OF  SPAIN  AND  ITS  DECO- 
RATIVE    USE — SPANISH     OBJECTIONS     TO     THE     RENAISSANCE     FORMS     AT 

ALCALA THE     INTERIOR     OF     THE    UNIVERSITY THE     CARDINAL' S     TOMB 

IN  THE  COLLEGIATE  CHURCH — LACK  OF  OTHER  RENAISSANCE  WORK  IN 
ALCALA. 


40 


CHAPTER  II 

COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA 

E GAS'S  son-in-law  is  supposed  to  have  taken  his  sur- 
name from  the  town  of  Covarrubias  near  Burgos 
but  whether  that  was  really  his  birthplace  is  not 
known.  According  to  Llaguno's  Notices  on  the  Architects 
and  Architecture  of  Spain  he  studied  with  the  German  Gothi- 
cist  Simon  de  Colonia  (Simon  of  Cologne)  in  Burgos,  which 
city  he  left  toward  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  for  Toledo; 
here  he  worked  under  Enrique  de  Egas.  The  same  author 
explains  the  young  architect's  adoption  of  the  new  style  not 
by  association  with  the  builder  of  the  Santa  Cruz,  nor  even 
by  vigorous  influences  received  earlier  in  Burgos,  but  by  *'the 
many  classic  ruins  in  Spain,  seeing  which  Alonso  de  Covar- 
rubias was  moved  to  imitate  them,  although  imperfectly  as  if 
eyes  and  hands  were  more  used  to  Gothic."  The  truth  is 
however  that  nothing  erected  by  Covarrubias  shows  con- 
versance, even  imperfect,  with  the  antique,  until  his  re- 
modeling of  the  Alcazar  of  Toledo;  and  this  was  after  he  had 
long  been  practicing  Plateresque.  In  153 1  he  presented  plans 
along  with  Diego  de  Siloe,  also  from  Burgos,  for  a  mortuary 
chapel  to  be  erected  in  the  cathedral  for  the  kings  descended 
from  the  illegitimate  Enrique  II  (Los  Reyes  Nuevos),  whose 
sepulchres  were  at  that  time  blocking  up  the  nave.  Arch- 
bishop Fonseca  awarded  the  commission  to  Covarrubias, 
who  finished  it  in  1534;  and  the  architect's  father-in-law 
dying  that  same  year  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  as 
Maestro  Mayor  de  la  Santa  Iglesia  de  Toledo. 

The  large  Capilla  de  Los  Reyes  Nuevos  is  structurally  as 
Gothic  as  the  cathedral  of  which  it  is  a  part  but  the  portal 

41 


42       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

connecting  it  with  the  church,  the  arch  dividing  it  into  two 
parts,  and  the  royal  wall-tombs  it  contains  are  all  in  the  new 
style.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  chapel  is  a  Gothic  struc- 
ture  with   extraneous   Renaissance   insertions,   but   rather   a 


Fig.  12 — Capilla  de  los  Reyes  Nuevos,  Toledo  Cathedral. 
Alonso  de  Covarruhias,  Architect,  iS34- 


piece  of  transitional  work  representing  from  its  Inception  an 
earnest  endeavor  to  harmonize  old  and  new.  This  searching 
for  affihation  Is  most  felt  In  certain  details  of  the  Gothic 
windows  and  again  in  the  dividing  arch,  still  pointed,  but 
with  beautiful  Italian  ornament.  In  the  tombs  (see  Fig.  12) 
there  is  little  of  transition  for  here  no  restrictions  were  imposed 
by  the  surrounding  Gothic  architecture.  On  the  right  wall 
are  the  sepulchres  of  Enrique  II  and  his  queen  and  on  the 
left  Enrique  III  and  his,  the  English  Catherine  of  Lancaster. 
All  the  recumbent  figures  are  earlier  having  been  brought  from 
their  former  place  in  the  nave.  The  motif  of  these  tombs  is  a 
recessed  niche  whose  vaulted  arch  is  a  little  less  than  a  full 


PLATE  VIII 


PORTAL  OF  THE  CON\^NTO  DE  SAN  CLEMENTE,  TOLEDO. 
Attributed  to  Covarruhias  and  Berruguete. 


43 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     45 

semicircle,  as  seen  frequently  in  early  examples  in  Italy.  At 
each  side  of  the  niche  is  a  flattened  colonnette  supporting  the 
entablature;  the  ornament  of  these  colonnettes  and  that  of 
the  panels  behind  the  effigies  is  the  most  charming  part  of  the 
motif.  Very  Spanish  in  treatment  are  the  spandrels,  wherein 
strong  bearded  heads  in  medallions  offer  animated  contrast  to 
the  tender  Italian  manner.  There  was  a  positive  lust  for 
costly  decoration  in  these  days  of  the  empire  (for  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Charles  V  was  master  of  half  of  Europe 
and  that  the  wealth  of  Mexico  and  Peru  was  pouring  in)  so 
gold  was  used  lavishly.  The  stone  jointing  of  the  vaulting, 
much  of  the  high  relief,  and  many  of  the  mouldings  are  gilded, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  illustration. 

The  next  step  in  the  artistic  development  of  Covarrubias, 
and  one  in  which  certain  very  personal  characteristics  may  be 
detected,  is  the  portal  to  the  Capilla  de  San  Juan,  now  the 
Treasury  where  all  the  jeweled  ornaments  and  trappings  of 
the  cathedral  are  kept  (Plate  IX).  This  entrance  was  made 
iri  iS37j  about  the  time  that  he  was  appointed  maestro  de  las 
obras  reales.  It  is  a  highly  wrought  Renaissance  doorway 
set  within  a  round-arched  Gothic  frame  partly  gilded.  Its 
relation  to  Egas's  first  Renaissance  portal  is  evident — orna- 
mental architrave  flanked  by  baluster  colonnettes,  rich  en- 
tablature, and  sculptured  tympanum  with  candelabra  at 
each  side;  but  the  exquisitely  cut  detail  here  is  Spanish,  not 
Italian  (Fig.  13).  In  the  panels  of  the  jamb  are  seen  flying 
birds,  entwined  ram's-heads,  masks,  amorini  of  muscular  build, 
and  the  little  plaques  in  vogue  at  the  time.  All  these  are 
held  together  by  a  vinelike  stem,  the  only  suggestion  of  plant 
form  encountered,  for  almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  Italian 
invasion  the  Spaniard  instinctively  rejected  the  sinuous  plant 
motifs  as  too  tame  and  inexpressive  for  his  more  vivid  tem- 
perament. His  predilection  was  for  animal  life  in  action, 
which  action  increased  in  intensity  and  nervous  energy  until 
the  period  came  when  all  ornament  was  banished  under 
Philip  II. 

In  a  temple  so  indescribably  rich  as  Toledo  Cathedral, 
the  head  church  of  the  kingdom,  there  is  naturally  an  over- 


46      SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

whelming  array  of  art  belonging  to  the  years  when  Covar- 
rubias  was  chief  architect  in  the  city.  Rejas,  portals,  tombs, 
stalls,  all  are  deservedly  famous  and  all  are  important  adjuncts 
to  the  builder's  art;  but  as  our  object  is  primarily  to  gain 


Fig.  13 — Detail  from  Portal  of  the  Capilla  de  San  Juan,  Toledo 

Cathedral. 
Covarruhias,  Architect,  i537- 


acquaintance  with  the  secular  expression  of  Plateresque  we 
will  leave  Toledo  and  follow  the  master  to  another  town  of 
the  province — Alcala,  on  the  little  Henares  stream  west  of 
Madrid.  Alcala  de  Henares  is  closely  connected  with  the 
ecclesiastical  history  of  Toledo.  Though  but  an  insignificant 
town  it  is  to  it  rather  than  to  the  important  episcopal  city  on 
the  Tagus  that  one  must  turn  to  find  a  real  Renaissance  cen- 
ter.    The  story  of  its  architecture  is  bound  up  in  the  story  of 


PLATE  IX 


DOORWAY  OF  THE  CAPILLA  DE  SAN  JUAN,  TOLEDO  CATHEDRAL. 
Alonso  de  Covarrubias,  Architect,  1537. 


47 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     49 

the  Spanish  primates  beginning  with  the  very  first  archbishop 
that  Toledo  had  after  the  Reconquest.  This  was  one  Ber- 
nado,  a  belhcose  French  monk  who,  in  his  determination  to 
rid  New  Castile  of  infidels,  led  an  army  against  their  stronghold 


Fig.  14 — Carved  Wooden  Doors  to  the  Sala  Capitular,  Toledo  Cathedral. 
Enrique  de  Egas  and  Pedro  Gumiel,  Architects,  1^04-12. 

at  Al  Kalah  and  reduced  it.  To  reward  the  service  and  to 
insure  the  town's  remaining  in  Christian  hands  the  king  made 
a  gift  of  it  to  the  bishops  of  Toledo.  Alcala  became  their 
favorite  retreat.  They  built  themselves  a  palace  there  and 
gathered  their  aristocratic  court  around  them.  Several  brilliant 
centuries  followed  during  which  time  it  was  the  birthplace  of 
that  princess  of  pathetic   history,  Catherine  of  Aragon,  and 


50       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

the  immortal  Cervantes.  Cardinal  Jimenez  de  Cisneros,  suc- 
cessor to  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza  as  archbishop  of  Toledo, 
and  regent  of  Spain  before  the  young  Charles  assumed 
control,    founded    the    widely   known    University    of   Alcali 


Fig.  15 — Carved  Panels  from  Wardrobe  by  Pedro  Pardo,  in  the 
Antesala,  Toledo  Cathedral,  1549. 

and  had  his  famous  polyglot  Bible  printed  here.  The  uni- 
versity was  begun  in  1497  and  finished  in  1508  by  Pedro 
Gumiel  who  was  collaborating  at  the  same  time  with  Enrique 
de  Egas  on  the  Sala  Capitular  of  Toledo  Cathedral.  The 
university  probably  showed  little,  if  any,  of  the  new  style  for 
nothing  could  have  been  more  opposed  to  the  ideas  of  the 
ascetic  old  warrior-priest  than  to  revive  ''the  uncleanly  gods 
of  the  ancients  with  all  their  pictured  allegories"  on  a  building 
in  which  militant  Christian  priests  were  to  be  trained.  But 
this  is  merely  conjecture  for  Gumiel's  facade  was  rebuilt  ere 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     51 

many  years  passed  and  will  be  examined  presently.  Mean- 
while a  prelate  of  more  relenting  tastes  succeeded  to  the  metro- 
politan chair.  This  was  Don  Alfonso  de  Fonseca  (see  page  80) 
whose  zeal  for  building  in  the  "Italian  taste"  were  so  great 
that  to  him  was  dedicated,  in  1526,  the  first  Spanish  transla- 
tion of,  or  rather  work  drawn  from,  Vitrubius — Las  Medidas 
del  Romano^  It  was  written  by  Diego  de  Sagredo,  royal 
chaplain,  who  gives  the  classic  proportions  or  medidas  by 
means  of  a  quaint  dialogue  between  an  architect  and  a  painter 
employed  in  Toledo  Cathedral.  The  dedication  of  the  book 
runs  as  follows: 

Of  the  Most  Illustrious  and  Most  Reverend  Senor  Don  Alonso 
de  Fonseca  Archbishop  of  Toledo  Primate  of  all  Spain  High  Chan- 
cellor of  Castilla  Diego  de  Sagredo  Chaplain  of  the  Queen  Our  Lady 
kisses  with  humble  reverence  the  very  magnificent  hands. 

On  considering  most  illustrious  sefior  the  great  inclination  which 
you  have  for  building  and  what  you  have  done  in  Santiago  and 
what  it  is  hoped  you  will  do  in  this  your  diocese  of  Toledo  I  have 
based  on  the  works  of  the  ancients  who  wrote  largely  on  the  science 
of  architecture  this  brief  dialogue  in  which  are  set  down  the  mea- 
surements which  those  officials  should  know  who  would  like  to  imi- 
tate Roman  buildings  and  for  lack  of  which  measurements  they 
have  committed  and  every  day  do  commit  errors  of  disproportion 
and  are  unfaithful  in  the  formation  of  bases  and  capitals  which 
they  design  for  such  buildings. 

In  answer  to  the  author's  hint  as  to  the  diocese  of  Toledo 
Don  Alfonso  or  Alonso  de  Fonseca  decided  to  enlarge  and 
remodel  in  Renaissance  the  Palacio  Arzobispal  at  Alcala  and 
employed  Alonso  de  Covarrubias  for  the  purpose.  The  pro- 
ject was  hardly  under  way,  however,  when  the  great  patron 
of  art  fell  ill  in  Alcala  and  died  (1534).  "The  news  was 
sent"  to  quote  old  Doctor  Salazar  de  Mendoza's  Life  of  Car- 
dinal Tavera,  published  in  1603,  "to  the  Emperor  at  Toledo 
whereupon  the  courtiers   commenced    as    is   their  custom  to 

'  The  interesting  woodcuts  for  the  first  edition  of  Las  Medidas  are  believed  to  have 
been  made  by  Felipe  de  Vigarni.  Sagredo's  work,  under  the  title  of  La  Raison  d'Archi- 
tecture  extraite  de  Vitrube  et  d'autres  Architectes  antiques  (1542),  was  also  the  first 
book  on  classic  architecture  known  in  France. 


52       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

speculate  upon  the  providing  of  the  archbishopric,  casting 
their  eyes  much  upon  Cardinal  Manrique."  But  Charles  V 
we  are  further  told  cast  his  eyes  even  more  upon  Cardinal 
Juan  de  Tavera.     He,  when  duly  appointed,  authorized  Covar- 


FiG.  i6 — Two  Figures  from  the  Silleria,  Toledo  Cathedral. 
Carved  hy  Alonso  de  Berruguete  and  Felipi  Vigarni  and  finished  in  1543. 


rubias  to  continue  the  archiepiscopal  palace  at  Alcala  as 
arranged  by  the  late  primate.  The  escutcheons  of  both 
Tavera  and  Fonseca  appear  throughout  the  ornament. 

As  the  palace  stands  to-day  it  is  an  incoherent  mass, 
every  archbishop  from  the  twelfth  century  down  to  the  eigh- 
teenth having  tried  to  leave  his  stamp  on  it.     It  was  much 


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53 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     55 

abused  by  the  French  when  they  overran  Spain,  and  even 
more  by  the  conscripts  to  whose  use  the  Spanish  government 
later  dedicated  it.  These  used  the  best  apartments  for 
kitchens,  burned  bits  of  the  splendid  ceilings  for  firewood,  and 
tore  up  the  floors  in  their  hunt  for  buried  treasure  (but  which, 
apparently,  the  cautious  bishops  had  previously  removed). 
The  state  tried  to  atone  by  beginning  an  elaborate  restoration 
in  the  seventies  and  creating  the  building  an  Archivo  Nacional. 
The  renovation  is  still  in  progress.  The  portion  which  needed 
it  least,  fortunately,  was  that  by  Covarrubias,  comprised  in 
the  west  wing  of  the  palace.  This  wing  forms  one  side  of 
the  entrance  forecourt  and  balances  the  fourteenth-century 
east  wing  built  in  Mudejar  (and  now  aggressively  restored). 
The  exterior  offers  nothing  worthy  of  notice  but  the  in- 
terior contains  the  finest  patio  of  the  Plateresque  period 
(Plate  X). 

This  famous  patio  is  two  stories  high,  the  lower  with 
semicircular  arches  and  the  upper  supported  on  lintels  with 
bracketed  columns.  Apparently  the  local  piedra  de  Tamajbn 
had  no  great  reputation  for  tensile  strength  for  wherever 
lintels  were  used  granite  was  substituted.  To  conceal  the 
butting  of  the  lintel  over  the  column  a  marble  medallion  was 
inserted  as  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  17.  The  magnificent  stairway 
(Plate  XII)  is  obviously  an  ofi^spring  of  that  at  Toledo.  Lla- 
guno  says  that  Covarrubias  **  probably  worked  on  the  Santa 
Cruz  but  there  is  so  little  Renaissance  there  that  he  must 
have  learned  it  elsewhere."  On  the  contrary,  while  the 
Alcala  stair  does  not  prove  that  Covarrubias  learned  all  his 
Renaissance  from  his  father-in-law,  it  does  prove  that  he 
had  seen  enough  in  the  Santa  Cruz  not  only  to  study  but  to 
use  as  a  prototype.  In  plan  and  scheme  of  ornamentation 
the  two  stairs  are  much  alike,  but  this  at  Alcala  has  that 
superiority  which  one  expects  to  find  on  recalling  that  Covar- 
rubias grew  up  in  the  Renaissance  whereas  Egas  acquired 
it  after  long  practice  in  Gothic.  And  furthermore  the  Alcala 
architect  had  the  collaboration  of  the  most  gifted  sculptor 
of  the  Spanish  Renaissance,  Alonso  de  Berruguete.  But  all 
question  of  sculptured  ornament  aside,  the  patio  and  stair, 


5Q      SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

for  their  beautiful  proportions  alone,  would  still  be  a  credit 
to  the  designer. 

The  stair,  like  that  at  Toledo,  is  surrounded  by  a  treatment 
of  rusticated  panels  but  here  each  panel  is  beautifully  carved 


Fig.  17 — Upper  Story  of  Patio  of  the  Palacio  Arzobispal,  Alcala. 
Alonso  de  Covarruhias,  Architect,  1535  et  seq. 


(Fig.  18).  All  told  there  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
of  them  in  endless  variety  and  purposely  underscaled  to  exhibit 
the  adroitness  of  the  Plateresque  carver.  Practically  un- 
restored,  they  offer  a  convenient  opportunity  to  study  his 
technique.  The  first  impression  is  that  of  inimitable  define- 
ment  of  line,  and  yet  the  subjects  carved  are  so  vague  and 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     57 

fantastic  that  the  result  Is  a  curious  sort  of  determinate  im- 
pressionism. These  panels,  like  the  capitals  and  carved 
pilasters,  are  comparatively  free  from  Italian  influence,  and 
show  that  same  marked  preference  for  robust  animal  forms 


Fig.  1 8 — Detail  of  Rustication  from  the  Patio  of  the  Archbishops' 

Palace,  Alcala. 


already  noted  in  Covarrubias's  ornament  in  Toledo  Cathedral. 
Especially  are  the  caps  of  the  stair  columns  a  digression,  the 
dragon-head  supported  by  amorini  supplanting  the  volute 
and  acanthus  of  the  classic  cap  (see  Fig.  19).  Whether  the 
aridness  of  the  country  in  which  Spanish  monuments  were 
reared  was  responsible  for  this  aversion  to  using  plant  life 
decoratively  is  difficult  to  say,  but  certain  it  is  that  there 
was  more  inspiration  for  such  motifs  in  Italy  than  on  the  bare 
plain  of  Castile.     On  the  other   hand  we    have,  besides  the 


58       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Spanish  passion  for  depicting  the  human  figure  in  tense  action, 
the  fact  that  every  small  living  thing  represented  in  their 
ornament  was  close  to  them  in  their  daily  life.  This  is  spe- 
cially true  of  the  ubiquitous  bird;  no  Spanish  child  but  catches 


Fig.  19 — Capital  by  Alonso  de  Bemiguete  from  the  Palacio  Arzo- 
bispal,  Alcala  de  Henares.      (Now  in  the  Museo  Arqueologico, 
Madrid.) 

and  playfully  torments  every  unlucky  pajaro  that  comes 
within  his  reach;  and  it  is  for  this  reason,  perhaps,  that  Murillo's 
Holy  Family  in  which  the  Child  Jesus  is  showing  His  captive 
is  a  special  favorite  in  every  home. 

The  treatment  of  the  entire  stairhall,  embracing  the  ar- 
cading  of  the  second  story  and  the  fine  artesonado  ceiling, 
forms   a  very  complete   composition   and   one   totally  unlike 


PLATE  XI 


ALCALA  DE.  HEKAR&S 

A  DOOTW^/^  IN  THE  AP^HEPISCOPAL  PALACE 


SCALE  OF 


DOORWAY  IN  THE  PALACIO  ARZOBISPAL,  ALCALA  DE  HENARES. 
Alonso  de  Covarrubias,  Architect,  1535  et  seq. 


59 


PLATE  XII 


.l-»-hir 


SECTION  THROUGH  STAIRWAY  OF  THE  PALACIO  ARZOBISPAL,  ALCALA  DE 

HEXARES. 

Alonso  de  Covarrubias,  Architect,  1535  et  seq. 


61 


•    COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     63 

anything  to  be  found  in  the  rest  of  Europe  (Plate  XII).  The 
Spaniard  having  accepted  the  principles  of  wooden  ceilings  in 
his  secular  work,  made  every  effort  to  reduce  his  supporting 
masonry  to  a  minimum;  this  is  clearly  evidenced  in  the  light 
and  graceful  elliptical  arches  of  the  first  and  second  stories. 
What  the  style  lacks  in  orthodox  principles  is  atoned  for  by 
its  rare  decorative  consistency.  Yet  so  far  as  the  practical 
problems  of  stereotomy  are  concerned  Covarrubias  advanced 
but  little  on  the  work  of  his  father-in-law.  Balusters  are 
still  carved  in  groups  of  six  or  seven  from  one  block  of  stone, 
newel  and  balustrade  still  join  awkwardly,  and  richly  worked 
bands  intersect  promiscuously  with  others  of  different  profile. 
All  of  which  means  that  it  was  the  sculptor  who  dominated 
in  work  that  was  primarily  architectural  and  that  only  a 
general  design  was  furnished  by  the  architect. 

Of  the  many  fine  artesonados  encountered  in  Spain  this 
over  the  staircase  is  particularly  remarkable  as  a  Renaissance 
adaptation  of  Moorish  methods.  In  plan  the  lower  part 
conforms  to  the  rectangular  stair-hall,  but  by  canting  the 
corners  the  ends  of  the  upper  part  become  semi-hexagonal; 
the  vaulted  portion  is  then  divided  off  into  octagonal  coffers 
arranged  in  various  planes.  The  entire  ornamental  scheme 
while  eastern  in  appearance  is  carried  out  in  the  Italian  style; 
that  is,  simple  polygons  replace  the  intricate  figures  of  the 
Moors.  Plainer  examples  may  be  seen  on  the  second  floor 
in  the  ceilings  to  the  suite  known  as  the  Sala  Cisneros,  the 
Sala  Fonseca,  and  the  Sala  Tavera,  but  here  there  has  been 
so  much  restoration  that  one  cannot  accept  what  he  sees 
as  sixteenth-century  work.  Much  less  tampered  with  is  a 
series  of  five  ceilings  in  rooms  lying  beyond  those  just  men- 
tioned. One  of  the  series  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  20.  All  are 
carved  in  soft  reddish  pine  and  left  undecorated ;  their  geometric 
panels  are  designed  with  a  fine  sense  of  scale  for  the  rooms 
they  adorn  and  the  Renaissance  detail  is  forcefully  carved, 
though  not  without  that  Moorish  stamp  which  the  race  left 
on  all  the  carpentry  of  Spain.  Besides  the  frieze  of  wood 
supporting  the  ceilings,  several  rooms  have  in  addition  a  sec- 
ondary frieze  of  plaster  or  yeseria  worked  at  much  finer  scale. 


64       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  two  were  a  combination  often  used  by  the  Moors  and 
are  again  mentioned  in  the  description  of  Penaranda  palace 
(Chapter  IV).  The  various  salons  of  the  cardinals  are  entered 
from  the  patio  by  unusually  beautiful  doorways.     The  archi- 


Fic.  20 — Wooden  Artesonado  in  the  Palacio  Arzobispal,  Alcala  de 

Henares. 

traves  are  finely  moulded  and  in  the  frieze  of  each  is  inscribed 
Johannes  Tavera  Cardinalis.  The  same  cardinal's  blazon 
is  employed  in  the  motif  above  the  cornice. 

More  will  be  heard  of  Alonso  de  Covarrubias  in  succeeding 
chapters.  He  lived  till  1570,  a  very  serious  and  very  indus- 
trious architect;  nevertheless,  great  though  he  undoubtedly 
was,  there  is  no  one  building  that  can  be  pointed  to  as  wholly 
his.  Indeed  the  same  might  be  said  of  most  of  the  noted 
architects  of  the  century;  a  complete  building  by  any  one  of 
them  would  be  a  treat  for  the  student  in  Spain. 

In  the  University  of  Alcala  we  meet  a  less  prolific  master 
and  one  who  went  his  way  little  influenced  by  the  conven- 


PLATE  XIII 


PILASTER  PANELS  OF  THE  PALACIO  ARZOBISPAL,  ALCALA  DE  HENARES. 
Covarriibias,  Architect;  Berriiguete,  Sculptor,     ijj^  et  seq. 


65 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     67 

tionalities  of  composition.  This  was  Rodrigo  Gil  de  Ontanon; 
and  he  too  found  in  Alcala  a  building  already  in  existence  to 
restrict  him.  The  university,  as  previously  stated,  was 
founded  by  Cardinal  Francisco  Jimenez  de  Cisneros  in  1497  and 
opened  by  him  in  1508  before  he  went  off  to  Africa  to  lead 
his  army  against  the  infidels  and  win  the  victory  of  Oran.  The 
following  description,  taken  from  Alvaro  Gomez's  interesting 
life  of  the  cardinal  {De  vita  et  rebus  gestis  Francisci  Xivienii) 
is  given  to  show  how  little  change  there  has  been  since  those 
remote  days  in  the  solemn  function  of  laying  a  corner-stone. 

One  March  afternoon  in  1497  a  splendid  procession  left  the  Cole- 
giata  with  music  and  holding  the  cross  on  high  and  marched  to  the 
spot  where  digging  had  commenced  for  the  new  college.  Pedro 
Gumiel  who  had  been  associated  with  Enrique  de  Egas  in  the 
capilla  mayor  of  Toledo  had  the  corner-stone  ready;  also  the  plan 
of  the  building  and  some  coins  of  gold  and  silver  and  a  little  bronze 
image.  The  Cardinal  in  his  Franciscan  habit  knelt  and  prayed, 
and  then  blessed  the  stone  and  laid  it  in  place.  In  the  breast  of 
the  bronze  image  was  a  hollow  in  which  was  placed  a  piece  of  parch- 
ment with  the  date  and  names  of  both  founder  and  architect. 
Gonzalo  Zegri,  a  Moorish  chief  who  had  been  baptized  in  Granada 
into  our  Holy  Faith,  threw  in  the  coins.  Then  the  Te  Deum  was. 
sung  and  the  procession  marched  slowly  back. 

The  buildings  were  of  brick,  and  King  Ferdinand  on  visit- 
ing them  asked  the  old  priest  if  it  had  not  been  a  mistake  to 
embody  such  a  sublime  idea  in  mere  clay.  "Sire,"  replied 
the  cardinal  confidently,  **I  expect  the  studious  youths  to^ 
whom  I  hand  it  over  as  mere  clay  to  convert  it  into  marble."" 
The  aspiring  rector  of  1540,  taking  the  founder's  words  liter- 
ally, ordered  Rodrigo  Gil  de  Ontaiion  to  demolish  Gumiel's 
brick  facade  and  rebuild  it  in  stone  and  marble.  This  archi- 
tect made  the  plans  and  started  the  work,  and  then,  being^ 
busy  at  the  time  with  his  father  on  the  cathedrals  of  Salamanca 
and  Segovia,  he  hired  one  Pedro  de  la  Cotera  to  remain  on  the 
spot  as  superintendent.  Presumably  the  master  himself  came 
often  to  Alcala  also.  When  the  present  facade,  the  most  dis- 
tinctive one  of  the  stvle  we  are  considering,  was  finished  the 


68       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

event  was  celebrated,  according  to  Cotera's  expense-book  **  by  il- 
lumination of  rockets  in  Alcala  which  cost  two  reals  and  a  half.'* 
It  was  the  year  1553  that  witnessed  this  pennyworth  of 
fireworks.  Such  a  rapid  advance  into  the  middle  of  the 
century  may  seem  premature  but  Spain's  Renaissance  could 
not  be  treated  chronologically  without  making  constant 
flights  into  the  four  corners  of  the  kingdom,  thereby  sacrificing 
what  is  more  important  than  sequence — continuity  of  local 
traditions  and  local  color.  Moreover  anyone  who  lingers  in 
Alcala  comes  to  feel  that  palace  and  university  are  contem- 
poraries in  spirit.  The  very  stone  itself,  from  nearby  Tamajon, 
gives  them  a  kinship,  to  say  nothing  of  Ontafion's  having 
worked  at  the  same  time  on  the  still  unfinished  archiepiscopal 
residence.  This  architect  was  the  son  of  the  highly  esteemed 
Gothicist  Gil  de  Ontanon  or  Hontanon  who  had  been  com- 
missioned to  erect  Spain's  last  two  examples  of  the  style, 
the  cathedrals  of  Salamanca  and  Segovia  (begun,  by  the  way, 
years  after  Egas  had  inaugurated  the  new  style).  In  both 
of  these  undertakings  Gil  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Rodrigo 
as  maestro  mayor. ^  A  considerable  number  of  parish  churches 
in  the  same  exhausted  Gothic  are  also  attributed  to  the  lat- 
ter. "Moreover  Rodrigo  sometimes  exercised  himself  in  the 
Greco-Romano  style"  to  quote  the  ingenuous  Llaguno  "but 
the  truth  is  that  in  this  kind  of  architecture  Rodrigo  Gil  does 
not  merit  praise  as  in  his  Gothic,  because  he  did  not  know 
the  proper  proportions  and  showed  the  same  bad  taste  as 
Covarrubias  or  even  worse."  Happily  for  the  charm  of  the 
Alcala  facade  (see  Plate  XIV)  its  architect  knew  less  about 
the  Medidas  del  Romano  than  his  critic  or,  if  he  knew  as  much, 
declined  to  confine  his  ideas  of  classic  architecture  to  a  mere 
system  of  rules  and  regulations.  He  therefore  did  not  hesitate 
to  reduce  the  orders  to  a  decorative  superficiality  both  in  the 
center  motifs  and  in  the  end  treatments.  In  fact,  orders 
interested  him  but  little  and  where  he  did  consent  to  use  them 

'  In  the  cloister  of  Segovia  Cathedral  is  Rodrigo 's  tomb  on  which  it  may  be  read 
that  he  laid  the  first  stone  of  "this  holy  church."  But  the  only  corner-stone  he  could 
have  laid  is  that  of  the  capilla  mayor  which  he  began  immediately  after  being  appointed 
architect  in  1560.  His  father  had  already  worked  thirty-five  years  on  the  cathedral 
which,  though  incomplete,  had  been  consecrated  in  1558. 


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69 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     71 


they  detract  from,  rather  than  add  to,  a  facade  distinguished 
for  its  fine  composition.  This  is  immediately  felt  in  the 
central  motif;  but  even  the  intrusiveness  of  this  hardly  spoils 
the  general  impression  of  simplicity.  In  arranging  his  open- 
ings Ontaiion  knew  too 
well  the  blistering  sun  of 
Alcala  to  be  weaned  away 
from  a  minimum  of  fenes- 
tration and  he  has  re- 
stricted the  huge  rooms 
on  the  front  to  one  win- 
dow each — entirely  ade- 
quate notwithstanding. 
The  loggia  across  the  top 
is  apparently  a  survival 
of  the  traditional  open 
loft  in  brick  structures 
and  still  remains  un- 
glazed.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  Pedro 
Gumiel,  architect  of  the 
original  brick  structure, 
was  a  native  of  Alcala 
and  was  probably  familiar 
with  the  brick  traditions 
of  the  neighboring  prov- 
ince of  Aragon,  of  which 
this  open  top  gallery  was 
one.  Thus  it  may  have 
already  existed  in  the  first 

design  and  if  so,  it  suited  Ontanon  to  retain  it  for  his  own 
composition;  perhaps  even  the  fenestration  in  the  lower  story 
follows  Gumiel's.  The  decoration  however  harks  back  to  the 
Lombard  windows  of  the  Santa  Cruz  at  Toledo.  The  detail  at 
Alcala  is  curiously  inconsistent;  carving  as  fine  as  that  in  the 
portrait  medallions  of  the  three  principal  windows,  or  in  the 
pilaster  panels  of  the  lower  openings,  would  satisfy  the  most 
exacting  taste;  but  as  much  cannot  be  said  for  the  feeble  work 


Fig.  21 — Detail  from  the  Fag-ade  of  the 

University  of  Alcala. 

Rodrigo  Gil  Ontanon,  Architect,  IS  S3- 


72      SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

over  the  entrance  arch  or  for  the  shapeless  amorini  above  all  the 
windows.  It  is  not  known  who  carved  the  finer  bits  but  they 
are  in  the  Berruguete  manner.  Plenty  of  available  talent  could 
be  summoned  from  Toledo  Cathedral  where  an  army  of  sculp- 
tors was  employed  and  where  Berruguete  and  Vigarni  were  then 
completing  what  are  probably  the  finest  stalls  ever  carved. 

Apropos  of  the  royal  blazon  so  conspicuous  on  this  facade 
a  word  is  necessary  as  to  the  decorative  part  it  plays  in  Spanish 
architecture.  Without  going  minutely  into  its  history'  the 
reader  may  be  reminded  that  to  the  escutcheon  adopted  in 
1475  for  united  Spain — Castile,  Leon,  and  Aragon — was 
added  the  granada  or  pomegranate  after  the  fall  of  the  last 
Moorish  kingdom  in  1492.  On  Queen  Isabella's  death  her 
daughter  Juana  la  Loca  or  Joan  the  Mad  became  queen  of 
Castile,  and  as  Joan's  Burgundian  husband  Philip  the  Fair 
reigned  for  a  brief  time  as  Felipe  I,  it  was  necessary  to  incor- 
porate all  his  quarterings  and  emblems  with  hers  for  use  on 
public  documents  and  monuments.  This  was  already  a  very 
complicated  and  sumptuous  affair,  but  when  their  son  Charles  I 
of  Spain  became  Charles  V,  Holy  Roman  Emperor,  it  grew 
still  more  so.  Charles  changed  the  one-headed  eagle  of  the 
Evangelist,  so  dear  to  Isabella,  for  the  two-headed  eagle  of 
Germany  with  the  crown  over  both  its  heads.  The  collar  of 
the  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  surrounded  the  eagle,  and 
below  were  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  intertwined  by  a  ribbon 
bearing  the  words  plus  ultra,  in  allusion  to  Charles's  dominions 
in  the  new  world.  This  proud  emblem  of  Spain's  sixteenth- 
century  power  was  first  used  over  the  entrance  to  the  Alcazar 
of  Toledo,  where  it  may  still  be  seen;  but  perhaps  it  was  never 
more  artistically  worked  out  than  at  Yuste  (Fig.  22),  the 
monastery  to  which  Charles  retired  in  1556  after  abdicating 
in  favor  of  his  son  Philip  II.  In  this  armorial  panel  the  castle 
of  Castile,  the  lion  of  Leon,  the  upright  bars  of  Aragon,  the  cross 
of  Naples,  and  the  chains  of  Navarre  alternate  with  the  Haps- 
burg  emblems — the  fillet  of  Austria,  the  lily  of  Artois,  the 
lion  of  Brabant,  and  the  bands  of  Burgundy.     In  the  little 

'  A  history  of  the  Escudo  de  Espafia  may  be  found  in  the  Revista  de  Archives, 
Bibliotecas,  y  Museos.,  vol.  xxi.,  1909. 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     73 

central  shield  are  the  lion  and  eagle  of  Flanders  and  Tyrol 
and  in  the  lower  part  of  the  main  shield  the  pomegranate. 
The  collar  of  the  Toison  d'Or  with  its  little  pendent  Holy  Lamb 
surrounds  the  shield  and  back  of  it  stands  the  imperial  eagle. 


Fig.  22 — Escutcheon  of  Charles  V.  over  the  Portal  of  the 
Monastery  at  Yuste. 

his  claws  clutching  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  That  an  emblem 
signifying  so  much  should  have  been  dignified  into  a  truly 
monumental  motif  by  the  sixteenth-century  designer  is  but 
natural;  that  he  succeeded  in  architecturalizing  it  into  a 
valuable  addition  to  his  gamut  of  themes  is  to  his  credit. 
The  Alcala  facade,  that  of  the  rival  university  at  Salamanca 
(Fig.  41),  the  Puerta  Visagra  of  Toledo,  and  most  unique  of 
all,  the  iron  reja  of  the  Capilla  Real  in  Granada  (Plate  LUI), 
are  a  few  of  the  many  examples  which  show  how  effectively 


74       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

it  was  used.  There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  at  least  one  glaring 
example  of  its  abuse — the  church  of  La  Magdalena  at  Valla- 
dolid  (1570)  whose  west  front  is,  according  to  George  Street, 
**the  ne  plus  ultra  of  heraldic  absurdity." 


-  '  >■  1  MiMayjjiaJfcMil 


•.i;nMii^wW'l?iTifN 


Fig.  23 — Blind  Window  in  the  Fagade  of  the  University  of  Alcala, 
with  a  Reja  by  Juan  Frances. 


To  return  to  Ontanon's  facade  at  Alcala;  there  are  Gothic 
touches  in  the  clustered  pilasters  surmounted  by  crocketed 
pinnacles,  and  again  in  the  statuette  supports  between  the 
columns  of  the  first  and  second  stories.  A  personal,  story- 
telling note,  irresistible  to  him,  was  the  great  twisted  rope 
framing  the  whole  central  motif — the  girdle  of  the  Franciscan 
Order  to  whose  rigorous  vows  the  great  archbishop  remained 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     75 

true  even  when  he  was  practically  ruler  of  Spain.  At  the 
extreme  end  of  each  flanking  wing  there  is  a  facetious  little 
false  window  inserted,  reja  and  all  (Fig.  23).  It  is  of  beautiful 
detail,  and  back  of  the  reja,  instead  of  blank  wall,  the  stone 
has  been  carved  into  charming  panels  in  imitation  of  wooden 
shutters.  This  reja  and  all  the  other  rich  examples  on  the 
building  are  by  Juan  Frances.  A  more  beautiful  yellowish 
hue  than  that  into  which  the  Tamajon  stone  has  been  cal- 
cined would  be  hard  to  find,  at  least  outside  of  Spain;  but  it 
is  very  worn  and  crumbled,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the 
work  of  restoration,  although  in  competent  hands,  will  be 
most  difficult.  Moreover,  the  character  of  the  sculptured 
ornament  is  so  illusive  that  a  modern  worker  can  hardly 
catch  its  spirit.  Summing  up  this  one  Renaissance  venture 
of  Rodrigo  Gil  de  Ontanon's  it  may  be  said  that  its  defects, 
and  there  are  many,  are  of  a  superficial  nature  but  that  its 
virtues  are  very  fundamental  and  worthy  of  much  study. 
Whether  it  justifies  the  obHteration  of  the  humble  brick  front 
that  so  well  expressed  the  character  of  the  simple,  lowly-born 
founder  of  the  university  is  another  matter.  Don  Pedro  de 
Madrazo  who  supplied  the  text  on  this  building  in  the  series 
of  Los  Monumentos  Arquitectonicos  de  Espaiia  does  not  appear 
to  think  so.  "Italy,  land  of  classic  paganism,"  he  declares, 
"never  understood  the  spirit  of  the  schools  created  in  the 
shadow  of  the  cloister,  and  so  gave  herself  up  with  exaggerated 
ardor  to  the  reconstruction  of  pagan  civilization.  Spain,  on 
the  contrary,  whether  because  of  the  stoic  character  of  the 
race  or  because  the  stern  Catholicism  for  which  she  had  fought 
so  bitterly  for  seven  centuries  was  ineradicable  in  her,  re- 
mained faithful  to  the  teachings  of  her  theologians  and  moral- 
ists, and  found  paganism  very  antipathetic.  ...  Its  amorini, 
cherubs,  satyrs,  nude  allegorical  figures,  were  inharmonious 
with  the  severe  national  spirit;  not  until  Charles  V's  day  did 
these  appear  in  ornament,  which  had  formerly  been  confined 
to  chaste  plant  forms." 

The  interior  of  the  university,  now  a  seminary  for  priests, 
holds  nothing  of  interest.  It  keeps  to  Gumiel's  plan  of  three 
patios,  the  best  of  which  is  that  of  the  Trilengue  (three  Ian- 


76       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

guages)  built  by  Pedro  de  la  Cotera  in  1557  with  an  effective 
second-story  treatment.  Adjoining  this  is  the  paraninfo  or 
auditorium  where  the  learned  faculty  used  to  listen  to  the 
youthful  competitors.  It  is  said  that  this  was  once  a  hand- 
some hall  but  what  is  now  left  of  its  decoration  is  poor,  yet 
both  the  yeseria  and  ceiling  treatment  are  known  to  have 
been  executed  by  the  same  men  who  decorated  the  fine  Sala 
Capitular  for  Cardinal  Jimenez  in  Toledo  Cathedral.  It  is 
nevertheless  distinctly  inferior  even  when  all  allowance  is 
made  for  the  abuse  it  has  received. 

After  the  two  buildings  described  the  next  object  of  inter- 
est in  Alcala  is  the  tomb  of  the  illustrious  cardinal.  He  was 
first  buried  in  the  chapel  of  his  university  but  now  lies  in  the 
church  called  La  Magistral,  a  poor  late  Gothic  edifice  said 
to  be  by  Pedro  Gumiel.  His  sepulchre  is  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  that  the  Renaissance  produced  outside  of  Italy; 
but  in  ordering  it  his  executors  paid  little  heed  to  his  tastes 
for  he,  the  most  uncompromisingly  Catholic  figure  of  his  age, 
was  laid  away  amid  a  veritable  revel  of  nude  cherubs  and 
winged  creatures.  It  was  designed  by  the  best  Italian  sculp- 
tor who  came  to  Spain,  Domenico  Fancelli  of  Florence  (see 
page  169).  Domenico  had  already  attained  fame  for  the 
tombs  of  the  Infante  Juan  and  the  Catholic  Kings.  He  was 
selected  for  this  new  commission  not  so  much  by  the  cardinal's 
executors  as  by  the  young  Emperor  whose  conscience,  it  is 
said,  was  pricking  him  for  his  ungrateful  treatment  of  the 
faithful  old  regent.  Fancelli  presented  drawings  and  signed 
the  contract  in  15 18  but  died  immediately  after  "for  which 
reason"  as  Llaguno  logically  remarks  "he  could  not  do  the 
work."  The  Spaniard  Bartolome  Ordonez,  protege  of  Bishop 
Fonseca  of  Burgos,  was  entrusted  to  carry  out  the  Floren- 
tine's designs.  Don  Jose  Marti  y  Monso  discovered,  and 
published  in  his  volume  of  Estudios  Historic o-Artisticos 
(1891),  the  contract  made  between  the  executors  of  Car- 
dinal Cisneros  and  the  Italian.  This  is  given  in  the  chap- 
ter on  Granada  where  the  work  of  these  two  sculptors 
is  fully  discussed.  The  Alcala  tomb  is  surrounded  by  a 
magnificent    bronze    grille  or  verja  known  to  have  been  ex- 


COVARRUBIAS  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  ALCALA     77 

ecuted  by  Nicolas  de  Vergara  but  probably  from  Ordonez's 
design. 

The  influx  of  Renaissance  into  Alcala  did  not  stimulate 
any  of  the  residents  to  build  themselves  palaces  in  the  new 


Fig.  24 — Portal  of  the  Convento  de  las  Carmelitas,  Alcala  de 

Henares. 


style.  There  appears  to  be  one  dwelling  of  the  period,  the 
Casa  de  los  Lizanos,  but  its  entrance  is  an  unintelligent 
assembling  of  curious  moiifs.  There  is  however  one  portal 
of  considerable  merit  in  the  town,  that  to  the  Convent  of  the 
Carmelitas  (Fig.  24).  It  is  cut  in  the  usual  warm-hued  stone, 
strengthened  by  granite  for  lintel  and  jambs.  There  is  good 
carving  in  the  caps  and  pilasters  apparently  by  one  of  the 
group  who  had  worked  on  the  Palacio  Arzobispal  and  who 
was  expert  in  using  the  same  motifs. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  FRANCISCO  DE  COLONIA  IN  BURGOS 

BISHOP  JUAN  RODRIGUEZ  DE  FONSECA  AND  HIS  PROTEGES — THE  FON- 
SECAS  AT  COCA  AND  SALAMANCA — THE  PUERTA  DE  LA  PELLEJERIA  BY 
FRANCISCO  DE  COLONIA — FRANCISCo's  EASILY  RECOGNIZED  PECULIAR- 
ITIES— HIS  DOOR  TO  THE  SACRISTY^  OF  THE  CONSTABLE'S  CHAPEL — THE 
REJERO   CRISTOBAL    DE    ANDINO   AS   A   RENAISSANCE   DESIGNER — THE   ES- 

CALERA    DORADA    BY    DIEGO    DE    SILOE OTHER     PLATERESQUE    WORKS    IN 

BURGOS  CATHEDRAL — THE  HOSPITAL  DEL  REY — THE  CASA  MIRANDA 


78 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  FRANCISCO  DE  COLONIA  IN  BURGOS 

IT  has  been  stated  that  the  great  churchmen  vied  with  each 
other  in  fostering  the  new  art;  therefore  to  say  that  a 
Fonseca  was  bishop  of  Burgos  in  the  late  fifteenth  and 
early  sixteenth  century  is  to  say  that  the  ancient  Castilian  capital 
soon  saw  Renaissance  importations.  There  is  however  egre- 
gious exaggeration  in  a  native  author's  assertion  that  "during 
the  years  when  Don  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Fonseca  was  in  the 
episcopal  chair  he  made  of  Burgos,  not  only  through  the  num- 
ber and  fame  of  the  artists  it  produced,  but  also  through  the 
quantity  and  excellence  of  their  works,  the  Florence  of  Spain.'* 
The  author  omits  to  add  that  no  important  Renaissance 
structure  was  ever  put  up  in  Burgos,  as  in  Florence;  that  to 
this  day  it  is  a  Gothic  city.  It  will  presently  be  shown  that 
it  was  not  in  the  erection  of  Renaissance  monuments  that 
Fonseca  nourished  the  new  style,  but  in  the  encouragement 
and  protection  he  gave  to  the  younger  generation  who  were 
eager  to  study  it;  these,  however,  soon  carried  it  away  to 
other  parts.  Burgos  with  a  magnificent  Gothic  cathedral 
still  building  had  long  been  a  magnet  to  the  northerners — 
Germans,  Flemings,  Burgundians — among  them  Annequin 
de  Egas  and  his  brothers,  Juan  de  Colonia  and  his  sons, 
Diego  de  Copin,  and  others  whose  names  were  similarly 
Spaniolized.  Some  changed  their  style  to  suit  the  new  patron 
but  the  best  known  men  in  the  Plateresque  field  were  Spaniards, 
lads  just  entering  their  career  as  assistants  to  the  Gothicists 
when  the  new  ideas  began  to  arrive.  To  this  group  belong 
Alonso  de  Covarrubias,  Diego  de  Siloe,  Cristobal  de  Andino, 
Bartolome  Ordonez,  and  Francisco  de  Colonia,  the  one  who 

79 


80       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

never  deserted  the  bleak  old  town.  Then  there  was  the 
Burgundian  PhiHppe,  known  as  Felipe  de  Borgona  or  de 
Vigarni  (of  Bourgogne),  most  noted  among  the  younger  for- 
eigners who  were  practicing,  more  or  less  tentatively,  the 
new  art.  As  an  itinerant  image  carver  in  France  he  had 
picked  up  considerable  knowledge  of  Italian  forms  before 
coming  to  work  in  Burgos  Cathedral  about  1499.  This  list 
of  names,  and  it  is  far  from  being  sufficient,  justifies  the  claim 
of  local  historians  that  the  majority  of  architects  and  sculp- 
tors who  worked  in  Castile  and  Andalusia  between  1500  and 
1550  had  made  their  debut  in  Burgos. 

The  name  Fonseca  has  appeared  so  often  in  this  story  of 
sixteenth  century  art  that  it  deserves  a  brief  biographical 
word.  The  vast  ruined  castle  at  Coca^  some  distance  north 
of  Segovia  was  the  family  seat  of  these  Fonsecas  who  were 
Sefiores  de  Coca  y  Alaejos,  Condes  de  Villanueva  de  Canedo, 
and  held  many  other  titles.  Throughout  three  reigns,  or 
from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  they  filled  the  highest  offices  of  church  and  state, 
while  in  art  matters  they  played  in  their  small  way  somewhat 
the  same  part  as  that  played  by  the  Medicis  in  Italy.  Just 
what  is  due  to  each  member,  however,  is  not  always  clear. 
During  the  century  cited  there  were  ten  Fonseca  bishops, 
three  of  them  named  Alfonso,  and  all  moving  successively 
from  one  bishopric  to  another.  Needless  to  add  that  the 
chroniclers  of  the  day  took  little  trouble  to  differentiate  be- 
tween them;  and  as  most  of  the  family  archives  were  destroyed 
when  the  Comuneros  sacked  Coca  Castle  the  confusion  seems 
beyond  hope  of  remedy.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  Juan 
Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  Bishop  of  Burgos  and  Palencia,  was 
the  foremost  figure  in  the  Renaissance  movement  in  northern 
Castile;  that  Alfonso,  Bishop  of  Santiago  and  Patriarch  of 
Alexandria,  was  similarly  active  in  Salamanca,  and  that  the 

'  "Its  tall  towers  and  clustering  turrets  still  attest  its  former  magnificence  and  point 
to  a  local  style  of  defensive  architecture  differing  from  that  of  any  other  part  of  Europe, 
but  even  more  picturesque  than  the  best  examples  of  France  and  England.  ...  A 
monograph  of  this  military  architecture  of  Spain  during  the  Middle  Ages  would  be 
almost  as  interesting  as  that  of  her  ecclesiastical  remains."  Fergusson's  History  of 
Architecture,  vol.  ii,  page  287. 


PLATE  XV 


EXTRAXCE  TO  THE  SACRISTY  OF  THE  CAPILLA  DEL  COXDESTABLE 

BURGOS  CATHEDRAL. 

By  Francisco  de  Colonia,  1512. 
6  81 


SCHOOL  OF  COLOXIA  IX  BURGOS 


83 


latter's  son  Alfonso,  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  outshone  them 
both  **in  his  great  incHnation  for  building"  to  quote  the 
Medidas  del  Ro7nano.  Don  Juan  of  Burgos  with  whom  we 
are  here  concerned  was  responsible  for  the  advent  into  Castile 


^s^^^^^mWf^msmmmm 


Fig.  25— Rubbing  from  the  Tomb  of  Dona  Mencia  de  Mendoza, 
Wife  of  the  Constable  of  Castile,  Burgos  Cathedral. 
Here  lies  the  very  illustrious  senora  Dona 
Mencia  de  Mendoza  Countess 
of  Haro  wife  of  the  Con- 
stable Don  Pedro  Hernandez 
de  Velasco  daughter  of  Don  Inigo  Lopez 
de  Mendoza  and  of  Donna  Cata- 
Hna  de  Figueroa  Marqueses 
of  vSantillana  died  of  sev- 
enty and  nine  years  Anno 
of  one  thousand  five  hundred. 

of  an  enormous  number  of  foreign  works  of  art.  Palencia, 
his  other  see,  benefited  largely  thereby,  as  witness  her  superb 
collection  of  Flemish  tapestries.  These  were  ordered  on 
the  occasion  referred  to  in  the  following  inscription  from  the 
notable  triptych  in  the  trascoro:  *'In  the  year  MDV  the 
reverend  and  magnificent  Sefior  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca  Bishop 


84       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

of  Palencia  ordered  this  image  of  Our  Lady  of  Compassion  to 
be  made  being  then  in  Flanders  as  ambassador  for  the  Senor 


N 


;*& 


Fig.  26 — Puerta  de  la  Pellejeria,  Burgos  Cathedral. 
Francisco  de  Colonia,  Architect.     iji6. 


King  Don  Fernando  with  the  Queen  Dona  Juana."  In 
Burgos  Cathedral  Fonseca  not  only  imported  works  of  art, 
he  built  them.  From  Seville,  in  his  capacity  as  head  of  the 
Casa  de  Contratacion,  a  sort  of  Colonial  Foreign  Office  es- 
tablished soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  new  world  (see 
page  212),  he  sent  out  "the  necessary  works  of  art  for  the 


SCHOOL  OF  COLOXIA  IX  BURGOS  85 

proposed  churches."  Another  indication  of  the  Ponseca 
standing  in  art  matters  is  that  Juan's  brother  Antonio,  who 
was  one  of  Queen  Isabella's  executors,  selected,  or  at  any 
rate  contracted  with,  several  of  the  artists  who  decorated 
the  royal  burial  chapel  at  Granada.  It  is  through  devious 
channels  like  this  that  we  may  trace  the  bishop's  influence 
and  the  reason  why  so  many  young  Burgalese  were  employed 
in  other  cities. 

About  15 16  he  ordered  a  portal  to  be  built  in  the  north 
transept  of  Burgos  Cathedral  and  wanted  it  in  the  latest  de- 
velopment of  Italian  architecture.  This  door  is  known  as  the 
Puerta  de  la  Pellejeria  (Fig.  26)  because  it  gives  outlet  to  the 
street  of  the  Furriers  or  Pellcjeros.  The  architect  was  Fran- 
cisco de  Colonia,  grandson  of  Juan — that  Meister  Hans  von 
Coin  to  whom  according  to  Professor  Justi  **  Burgos  Cathedral 
owes  its  renown  as  the  most  beautiful  church  in  Spain." 
Francisco  was  appointed  maestro  de  las  obras  in  15 11  and  from 
then  on  enjoyed  a  fame  which,  if  one  dare  declare  it,  appears 
disproportionate  to  his  talents.  Besides  his  Renaissance 
work  for  the  cathedral,  he  built  at  least  in  part  several  palaces 
in  the  province,  and  carved  the  fine  Gothic  retablo  in  the 
parish  church  of  San  Nicolas.  Comparing  the  Puerta  de 
la  Pellejeria  with  Enrique  de  Egas's  hospital  door  at  Toledo 
one  sees  that  while  the  notions  of  both  architects  were  con- 
fused as  to  Renaissance  composition  this  is  offset  in  the  hospital 
by  a  true  artist's  appreciation  of  the  charm  of  Italian  orna- 
ment. Francisco  missed  this.  All  his  ornament  shows  a 
certain  heaviness  and  lack  of  sentiment.  Then  there  are  his 
pronounced  mannerisms,  worth  looking  into  here  since  they 
enable  one  to  identify  the  Colonia  school  throughout  the 
province — a  rectangular  opening  surmounted  by  an  arch 
that  is  purely  ornamental  and  from  which  radiate  crude 
acanthus  forms;  gigantic  garlands  that  coarsely  echo  Delia 
Robbia  draping  the  doorway  on  each  side;  capitals,  the  key- 
note to  the  skill  of  any  Renaissance  architect,  of  unlovely 
bell-shape;  and  finally  a  profusion  of  ornament  in  the  pilasters 
and  frieze  panels  so  perfunctory  that  it  strongly  suggests 
modern  stamped  work.     In  short,  nowhere  is  there  a  trace  of 


86       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

that  spontaneity  and  realism  which  make  even  second-rate 
Spanish  productions  interesting  and  Hving.  This  younger 
Colonia,  although  his  mother  may  have  been  Spanish,  never 
became  Spaniohzed;  in  this  respect  he,  his  father,  and  his 
grandfather  stand  apart  as  among  the  very  few  foreigners  of 
whom  this  may  be  said.  The  features  enumerated  above 
will  all  be  found  in  an  earlier  work,  the  small  door  (Plate  XV) 
leading  from  the  Capilla  del  Condestable  into  the  sacristy  of 
the  same  chapel,  but  here  the  beautifully  carved  wooden  door, 
which  may  be  Francisco's  also,  imparts  merit  to  the  whole; 
and  again  they  will  be  seen  in  later  work  such  as  the  door 
added  to  Egas's  Colegio  de  la  Santa  Cruz  in  Valladolid  and 
the  portals  of  the  palaces  of  Cogolludo  and  Penaranda  (Plates 
XVI  and  XXI).  Nor  were  they  limited  to  portals,  for  several 
altars  and  sepulchres  in  the  church  of  San  Esteban  show  them. 
These  various  peculiarities,  appearing  in  so  many  different 
localities,  prove  that  Francisco  or  some  imitative  disciple 
was  not  lacking  in  vogue;  yet  he  had  a  contemporary  working 
in  Burgos  Cathedral,  Cristobal  Andino,  whose  work  showed 
keener  sensitiveness  to  the  refinements  of  Renaissance  al- 
though it  never  won  him  popularity.  Whether  this  reflects 
a  lack  of  discrimination  on  the  part  of  their  priestly  patron 
or  a  lack  of  business  ability  in  Christopher  himself  would  be 
difficult  to  say;  but  there  is  every  proof  in  the  reja  he  made  for 
the  Constable's  chapel  that  he  had  finer  taste  and  deeper 
Renaissance  lore  than  the  master  of  the  works  had. 

Besides  the  portal  built  in  the  north  transept  by  Colonia 
there  is  the  early  main  transept  door  set  high  in  the  wall  at 
the  level  of  the  hilltop  street  called  Fernan  Gonzalez.  To 
lead  from  it  down  to  the  floor  of  the  church,  some  30  feet 
below.  Bishop  Fonseca  commissioned  Diego  de  Siloe  to  build 
a  sumptuous  staircase  (15 19).  This  is  the  unique  escalera 
dorada  or  golden  stair,  parent  of  all  escaliers  d''honneur,  and 
an  admirable  combination  of  marble  and  iron  (Plate  XVII). 
It  begins  in  a  single  short  run,  divides  into  two  and  reunites 
at  the  door  level  into  a  sort  of  spacious  rostrum.  The  first 
stage,  all  in  marble,  is  very  graceful  with  its  long  sweeping 
consols   and   their   unusual   return   bolsters;  but   the   profuse 


> 
< 


87 


89 


SCHOOL  OF  COLONIA  IN  BURGOS 


91 


decoration  of  allegorical  bas-reliefs  leaves  something  to  be 
desired  on  the  side  of  restraint.  At  the  first  landing  begin 
the  iron  balustrades,  a  chef  d'ceuvre  of  forging  whose  like  could 
not   be   found  outside  of  Spain.     Varying  in  design  as  they 


Fig.  27 — Detail  from  Reja  of  the  Capilla  del  Condestable,  Burgos 

Cathedral. 
Cristobal  Andino,  Rejero.     ij2j. 

ascend  they  are  worked  into  the  Fonseca  arms  at  the  second 
landing  and  into  splendidly  executed  repousse  heads  at  the 
rostrum.  The  whole  work  is  elaborately  painted  and  gilded. 
This  part  was  long  ascribed  to  Andino  but  is  now  known  to 
be  the  work  of  one  Maestro  Hilario,  a  French  smith.  Andino 
at  this  same  time  was  busy  with  a  mighty  piece  of  ironwork 
conceived  in  quite  another  spirit — the  reja  of  the  Capilla  del 
Condestable  which  is  full  of  the  calm  beauty  of  Italy  but  in 
a  medium  which  the  Italians  never  dreamed  of  architecturaliz- 


92       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

ing  to  the  point  of  monumentality.  In  the  two  charming 
figures  of  the  cresting  and  in  much  of  the  detail  (see  Fig.  27) 
he  has  caught  the  message  of  the  antique  far  more  sympa- 
thetically than  did  any  of  the  classicists  who  succeeded  the 


Fig.  28 — Detail  from  the  Tomb  of  Bishop  Gonzalo  de  Lerma, 

Burgos  Cathedral. 

Attributed  to  Diego  de  Siloe. 

Plateresque  period.  This  fact  was  appreciated  by  the  discrimi- 
nating priest  who  wrote  the  Medidas  del  Romano,  for  he  honors 
the  rejero  with  a  paragraph  pointing  out  how  the  reja  for  "my 
lord  the  Constable  adheres  to  ancient  principles"  and  advises 
architects  and  Ironworkers  to  study  it.  The  wife  of  this 
Condestable  de  Castilla,  Don  Pedro  de  Velasco,  was  a  sister 
of  ^/  Gran  Gardenia!  Mendoza;  and  being  accustomed  to  the 
excessive  richness  of  her  father's  palace  at  Guadalajara, 
she  employed  Simon  de  Colonia  to  build  this  huge  chapel 
in  1482  et  seq.;    amidst  all  Its  excellent  but  endless  German 


PLATE  XVIII 


mm 


ji& 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  HOSPITAL  DEL  REY,  BURGOS. 
Architect  Unknown.     1526. 
93 


PLATE  XIX 


DOOR  PANEL  FROM  THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  HOSPITAL  DEL  RI:y,  BURGOS. 

95 


SCHOOL  OF  COLONIA  IN  BURGOS  97 

ornament  the  restraint  and  the  structural  force  of  Andino's 
contribution  is  very  grateful.  The  reja  is  signed  and  bears 
the  date  1523.  Andino  is  buried  in  a  small  church  in  the 
Barrio  de  Vega  across  the  river  Arlanzon  under  a  monument 
designed  by  himself. 

There  are  many  other  sixteenth  century  works  in  Burgos 
Cathedral — the  new  cimhorio,  the  silleria  or  choir  stalls,  the 
tombs,  retablos,  and  a  mass  of  decorative  sculpture  which 
there  is  little  necessity  of  analyzing  here  although  the  tombs 
and  wood-carving  would  each  deserve  much  attention  in 
any  history  of  those  important  branches  of  Spanish  art. 
With  all  this  ecclesiastical  activity  and  the  representative 
men  employed  such  as  Diego  de  Siloe,  Felipe  de  Vigarni,  Juan 
de  Vallejo,  and  so  on,  one  would  expect  to  find  something 
notable  in  the  way  of  domestic  and  civic  architecture;  but 
the  fact  is  that  there  is  only  one  casa  particular,  the  Casa 
Miranda,  and  only  one  public  building,  the  Hospital  del  Rey, 
worthy  of  examining.  And  even  these  reflect  absolutely  noth- 
ing of  the  Burgos-trained  men.  Such  a  paucity  of  undertak- 
ings outside  of  the  church  is  explained  by  the  general  economic 
condition  of  the  old  Castilian  capital.  The  court  had  long 
since  moved  south  and  Burgos,  so  important  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  was  merely  vegetating  in  this  period ;  not  even  the  en- 
thusiasm of  a  Fonseca  could  supply  its  impoverished  or  in- 
different nobles  with  Renaissance  mansions.  The  Hospital 
del  Rey  mentioned  above  lies  about  a  mile  southwest  of  the 
city  on  the  poplar-fringed  river.  It  is  an  ancient  edifice  of 
no  particular  form  but  is  interesting  for  the  Plateresque  em- 
bellishment ordered  by  the  Catholic  Sovereigns;  an  order 
which,  like  others  of  their  architectural  projects,  was  not  car- 
ried out  until  the  days  of  their  grandson  Charles.  The 
added  part  consists  of  the  entrance  gateway  (Plate  XVHI) 
and  forecourt.  It  shows  the  royal  blazon  and  is  dated  1526. 
Far  more  architectonic  in  composition  and  superior  in  tech- 
nique to  the  work  of  the  Colonia  group,  it  appears  to  be  by 
some  outside  architect;  and  its  apt  use  of  the  smaller  Renais- 
sance motifs  along  with  the  design  of  the  exterior  doorframe 
and  the  arched  opening  with  slender  columns  and  rather  light 


98       SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

entablature,  all  point  to  his  having  worked  at  Salamanca.  In 
the  forecourt  are  several  interesting  bit  of  detail  including  some 
beautiful  doors  which  lead  to  the  chapel  (Plate  XIX).  They 
are  of  walnut,  a  wood  made  famous  in  Spain  by  the  splendid 


Fig.  29 — Detail  of  an  Arch  Soffit,  Hospital  del  Rey,  Burgos.     1526. 

carving  done  in  it  both  in  Gothic  and  Renaissance  days. 
In  the  panels  here,  while  the  unknown  sculptor  has  retained 
much  of  the  Spanish  vigor,  he  has  kept  the  decorative  quality 
uppermost;  there  is  also  careful  work  in  the  architectural 
motifs  framing  the  panels. 

It  is  likewise  puzzling  to  account  for  the  singular  architect 
who  in  1543  built  the  Casa  Miranda,  the  most  splendid  Bur- 
galese  residence  of  the  century.  Nothing  quite  like  it  exists 
in  all  Castile.  Now  an  almost  hopeless  ruin,  it  is  used  as  a 
factory  for  converting  pig-skins  into  wine-containers;  and 
if  a  long-standing  protest  on  the  part  of  the  Ayuntamiento 
(who  have  opposed  its  sale  for  removal)  is  not  soon  settled 
in  favor  of  the  purchaser  there  will  be  nothing  left  for  him 


SCHOOL  OF  ( OLONIA  IX  BURGOS 


99 


to  remove.  Neither  owner  nor  town  council  has  the  money 
to  reclaim  it,  and  as  for  the  national  government,  it  is 
already  embarrassed  to  find  uses  for  the  many  fine  old 
structures    that    have    been    declared    national    monuments. 


Fig.  30~ Section  through  Stairway  in  the  Casa  Miranda,  Burgos. 


Meanwhile  the  discoloring  process  goes  on  in  the  beautiful 
Miranda  patio.  The  house  was  built,  according  to  the  in- 
scription in  the  frieze,  by  Don  Francisco  de  Miranda, 
Abbot  of  Salas — a  member  of  the  Pefiaranda  family  whose 
palace  is  to  be  examined  shortly.  There  is  no  record  of 
the  architect  but  it  is  evident  at  a  glance  that  he  had 
nothing  in  common  with  others  of  the  city.  Only  the 
vestibule,  patio,  and  stairway  retain  any  traces  of  their  ori- 
ginal beauty,  the  whole  interior  being  now  let  out  in  tene- 


100     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

ments.  The  patio  (Plate  XX)  is  very  distinctive,  its  severe 
post  and  lintel  architecture  being  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
usual  arcuated  style.  This  columnar  arrangement,  rare  in 
the  Plateresque  period,  recalls  Pompeian  work,  particularly  the 


Fig.  31 — Vaulting  of  Stairway  in  the  Casa  Miranda,  Burgos.     1543. 


well-known  atrium  of  the  so-called  House  of  Ariadne.  Of 
course  this  was  not  then  exhumed  but  we  are  reminded  in  the 
Medidas  del  Romano  that  "the  ancients  had  constructed  mag- 
nificent works  of  which  to-day  many  stand  and  moderns  never 
cease  to  take  samples  from  them  such  as  drawings,  measure- 
ments, tracings,  models,  which  are  sent  all  over  the  world." 
On  the  exterior  of  the  Miranda  there  is  nothing  of  this  classic 
sophistication;  only  a  fair  Corinthian  portal  claims  the  atten- 
tion.    One  enters  through  two  vestibules,  the  first  bare,  the 


PLATE  XX 


PATIO  OF  THE  CASA  MIRANDA,  BURGOS. 

Architect  Unknown.     1^43. 

{From  an  old  picture.) 


101 


SCHOOL  OF  COLONIA  IN  BURGOS 


103 


second  an  attractive  degagement  square  in  plan  and  with  the 
four  semicircular  arches  of  its  sides  supporting  a  flat  octagonal 
dome  with  late  Gothic  vaulting.  Next  comes  the  patio  at 
whose  far  end  is  the  stairhall,  and  in  the  latter  more  Gothic 


■  Fig.  32 — Plateresque  Belfry  of  Santa  Maria  del  Campo,  near  Burgos. 

is  encountered,  yet  the  patio  is  advanced  Renaissance.  The 
stairs,  which  are  in  very  bad  shape,  are  ascended  through 
an  arched  opening  flanked  at  each  side  by  colonnettes 
engaged  to  a  very  flat  pilaster  and  embellished  with  beauti- 
ful little  arabesques.  Although  not  built  around  an  open 
well,  it  retains  the  three  runs  and  two  landings  of  the 
claustral  type  as  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  30.  In  its  paneled 
vaulting  it  is  treated  like  the  stairs  of  the  smaller  Renais- 
sance palazzi  m  Italy.  The  panels  (Fig.  31)  are  exquisitely 
carved   and   off'er  a  wealth    of  motifs    including  arabesques, 


104     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

scrolls,  portrait  medallions,  and,  it  goes  without  saying, 
the  blazon  of  the  prelate.  Returning  to  the  patio,  which 
is  the  best  preserved  portion  of  the  house,  one  finds  that 
there  is  a  consistency  between  the  post  and  lintel  con- 
struction and  the  flat  cloister  ceiling  accompanying  it  that 
is  absent  in  the  more  typical  arcaded  gallery.  The  raised 
letters  of  the  inscription  are  as  much  of  an  innovation  in 
Plateresque  as  the  late  Roman  columns.  On  the  antepecho 
or  parapet  of  the  upper  gallery,  which  is  a  holdover  from  Gothic, 
is  a  frieze  of  panels  not  only  charming  in  themselves  but 
specially  well  carved  considering  that  the  material  is  granite. 
It  is  a  pity  that  not  even  this  small  portion  of  the  once  exten- 
sive palace  can  be  reclaimed  for  its  artistic  value  is  far 
greater  than  that  of  the  Constable's  palace  (Casa  del  Cordon) 
recently  rehabilitated  and  occupied  by  a  Burgalese  family. 
On  either  side  of  the  Miranda  stand  large  houses  of  scant 
merit;  one  of  them,  the  Casa  del  Angulo,  while  it  appears  to 
be  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  really  of  the  eighteenth.  In 
this  same  Calle  de  la  Culera  once  lived  the  renowned  sculptors 
Gil  and  Diego  de  Siloe,  Nicolas  de  Vergara,  and  probably 
Cristobal  de  Andino,  since  he  is  buried  close  by. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  DOMESTIC  PLAN  AND  THE  PALACE  AT   PENARANDA 

ABANDONING    THE    FEUDAL    CASTLES NEW    HOMES    UNLIKE    THOSE    OF 

CONTEMPORARY    EUROPE — EVOLUTION   FROM   CASTILLO   TO    PALACIO THE 

PATIO  AS  NUCLEUS  OF  PLAN  AND  ITS  PART  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  SPANISH  \VO- 
ilEX — LACK  OF  SYSTEMATIC  ARRANGEMENT  IN  ROOMS,  WHICH  ARE  MERELY 

A   SERIES   OF   SIMILAR    UNITS   AROUND   THE    PATIO PRACTICAL   ASPECT   OF 

THE  SPANISH  PLAN — LACK  OF  SYSTEM  IN  HOUSEHOLD  ADMINISTRATION 
AND  ITS  EFFECT — THE  KITCHEN  ALMOST  NEGLIGIBLE — NO  BUILT-IN 
ACCESSORIES  IN  THE  LIVING-ROOMS,  THESE  BEING  DESIGNATED  BY  THE 
CONTENTS  OF  THE  CARVED  CHESTS — ^ABSENCE  OF  GARDEN  TREATMENT 
IN  FRONT  OF  THE  PALACE — ALL  THE  PECULIARITIES  OF  PLAN  AND  SETTING 
EXEMPLIFIED  IN  THE  PENARANDA  PALACE — CRUDE  MASONRY  AND  BEAUTI- 
FUL PORTAL  OF  THE  FVgADE — PATIO  AND  SUMPTUOUS  CLAUSTRAL  STAIR 
WITH  MAGNIFICENT  ARTESONADO — SALONS  OF  THE  PISO  PRINCIPAL  OR 
MAIN  FLOOR  AND  THEIR  ARTESONADOS YESERIA  OR  MOORISH  PLASTER- 
WORK — PRESENT    CONDITION    OF    THE    PALACE 


106 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  DOMESTIC  PLAN  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA 

AT  the  dawn  of  the  sixteenth  century  when  the  long 
racial  wars  were  over  the  nobles  found  themselves 
inheritors  of  feudal  castles  that  were  much  the  worse 
for  wear.  An  order  issued  by  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  with 
a  view  to  ending  dissensions  between  the  nobles  themselves 


Fig.  33 — Long  Gallery  in  the  Palacio  de  Monterey,  Salamanca. 

forbade  the  repairing  of  these  strongholds.  This,  coming  at 
a  moment  when  the  air  v/as  rife  with  humanism,  sent  them 
into  the  towns  to  build  new  homes,  or  if  they  already  possessed 
Gothic  houses,  to  modernize  them.  There  it  is,  rather  than 
in  the  country,  that  the  fine  palaces  of  the  period  must  be 
sought.  When  found  they  are  usually  in  sad  condition  for 
nowhere  have  poverty  and  deliberate  abandonment  worked 
greater  havoc  in  ancestral  seats.     Studying  these  sixteenth- 

107 


108     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

century  homes  it  is  interesting  to  note  their  many  points  of 
departure  from  those  which  marked  the  advent  of  the  modern 
social  era  in  the  rest  of  Europe.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is 
nothing    in    Spain    corresponding    to    the  Italian  villa,  the 


Fig.  34 — An  Outdoor  Kitchenette. 

French  chateau,  or  the  English  manor-house.  Generally 
speaking  the  defensive  castle  in  Spain  had  offered  even  less 
of  the  domestic  amenities  to  its  inmates  than  the  French  or 
English  feudal  home.  Much  of  this  severity  and  bareness 
survived  in  the  succeeding  period  and  is  to-day  all  the  more 
striking  because  stripped  of  the  hangings  and  furnishings  that 
once  relieved  it.  The  patio,  like  the  atrium  of  the  Roman 
house  and  the  plaza  de  armas  of  the  Castillo,  was  the  nucleus 
of  the  palace  plan;  this  not  only  because  the  Spaniard  was 
tenacious  of  tradition,  but  because  it  answered  both  to  climatic 
requirements  and  to  the  Moorish  ideas  of  sequestered  family 
life  with  which  the  Spaniard  was  imbued.  In  the  Spanish  as 
in  the  Roman  plan  a  large  vestibule  led  directly  to  the  patio, 


HOMES  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA  10!) 

which  was  open  to  the  sky  and  surrounded  by  a  covered  walk. 
It  was  almost  invariably  of  two  stories,  and  upper  and  lower 
cloister  galleries  were  connected  by  the  grand  claustral  stair- 
way; from  the  upper  walk  opened  the  private  apartments. 
This  nucleus  of  open  quadrangle,  roofed  galleries,  and  claustral 
stairs  served  as  a  general  living-room  and  was  the  scene  of  all 
great  functions  gay  or  sad.  Moreover  it  was  the  woman's 
only  place  of  recreation  for  in  Spain  the  sex  appears  to  have 
been  as  closely  guarded  as  in  Arabia.'  So  entirely  did  the 
hollow  square  plan  accommodate  itself  to  the  scheme  of 
domestic  life  that  it  never  gave  way  to  the  open  plan  of  ex- 
terior indentations  found  in  Italy,  France,  and  England.  As 
the  patio  had  already  reached  structural  perfection  when  the 
sixteenth-century  architect  inherited  it  he  had  only  to  im- 
prove or  modernize  its  decoration.  Accustomed  to  the  Moor- 
ish idea  of  interior  richness  and  exterior  plainness  he  lavished 
on  it,  rather  than  on  the  facade,  his  greatest  wealth  of  orna- 
ment. 

From  the  structural  point  of  view  it  cannot  be  claimed 
that  the  Spanish  plan  ever  attained  that  scientific  adjustment 
of  means  to  end  that  it  reached  in  other  countries  where  the 
Renaissance  penetrated.  During  the  period  under  considera- 
tion it  made  little  more  attempt  at  structural  refinements 
than  had  previously  sufficed.  As  opposed  to  the  studied 
niceties  of  Italian  planning,  Spanish  was  nothing  more  than 
the  juxtaposition  of  similar  units  around  the  open  patio  as 
in  the  Pefiaranda  plan  (Fig.  35),  the  units  themselves  being 
devoid  of  any  systematic  arrangement  of  fenestration,  door- 
ways, or  other  details.  This  criticism  can  hardly  be  modified 
even  in  favor  of  the  finest  mansions.  For  this  defect  there 
are  two  explanations:  first,  in  domestic  work  trabeated  con- 
struction prevailed,  for  although  the  Spanish  had  shown  in 

'  In  the  early  sixteenth  century  we  find  the  stern  moralist  Fray  Fernando  de  Tala- 
vera  censuring  women  of  the  upper  classes  for  making  church-going  a  pretext  for  ap- 
pearing in  public  when  they  could  avoid  passing  through  the  streets  by  hearing  mass 
in  the  chapels  of  their  own  palaces.  This  aversion  to  ha\'ing  the  women  appear  abroad 
makes  entirely  feasible  the  explanation  of  long  open  galleries  such  as  are  seen  in  the 
fagade  of  the  Palacio  Monterey  in  Salamanca  and  the  Benavente  in  Baeza — that  they 
were  built  for  the  ladies  to  go  walking  {para  tomar  el  fresco). 


no     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

their  churches  as  great  skill  in  vaulting  as  any  other  European 
people,  in  their  secular  architecture  they  accepted  the  beamed 
ceilings  and  simple  plaster  walls  which  had  satisfied  the  Moors. 
Even  the  popular  and  marvelously  carpentered  domical  ceiling 


PLNARANDA 

PALACIO  DEL05   CONDES  DE  AM  RAN  DA 


-N 


SCALE  OF 


FEET 


Fig.  35 — Plan  of  the  Palacio  de  Penaranda  de  Duero. 

or  artesonado  merely  disguises  a  simple  flat  process  above  it. 
The  second  explanation  is  more  or  less  contingent  upon  the 
first — they  also  accepted  the  Moorish  principle  that  interior 
decoration  required  nothing  of  architectonic  interest  as  a  back- 
ground. Thus  though  they  introduced  dados  of  polychrome 
tiles  (azulejos),  and  door  and  window  openings  framed  with 
flat  bands  of  patterned  plaster  (yeseria),  the  room  was  essen- 
tially nothing  but  a  box  with  a  few  haphazard  outlets,  the 


HOMES  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA  111 

whole  made  sumptuous  with  tapestries  or  gilded  leather 
hangings  {guadamaciles).  Not  until  really  classic  structural 
methods  were  introduced  in  the  latter  half  of  the  century  was 
there  any  noticeable  improvement  in  Spanish  planning.  In 
other  words,  when  the  Spaniard  adopted  vaulted  architecture, 
symmetry  and  studied  arrangement  naturally  followed;  but 
this  classic  movement  had  very  little  effect  on  domestic  work- 
Neither  from  the  purely  utilitarian  aspect  can  the  Spanish 
plan  compare  with  that  of  other  countries  during  the  Re- 
naissance— the  natural  result  of  the  architect's  not  being 
called  upon  to  meet  the  demands  of  an  advanced  and  system- 
atized household  administration.  This  is  specially  conspicu- 
ous in  the  culinary  quarter.  In  any  old  mansion  north  of  the 
Pyrenees,  even  one  in  ruinous  condition,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  recognizing  the  kitchen.  Not  only  would  the 
capacious  chimney-place  tell  the  tale,  but  also  the  smoke  room, 
larders,  and  communications  with  the  dining-room  and  cel- 
lars; but  in  going  through  a  deserted  Spanish  palace  the  kitchen 
can  only  be  guessed  at.  Cooking  was  frequently  accomplished 
out  in  the  open;  or  if  indoors,  by  burying  the  earthen  pots  of 
food  in  smouldering  straw  or  embers;  for  which  reasons  the 
kitchen  chimney  is  no  more  important  in  size  than  that  of 
any  other  apartment  that  is  fortunate  enough  to  have  one. 
The  only  really  capacious  provision  for  cooking  is  to  be  found 
in  the  monasteries.  Regarding  the  diminutiveness  of  the 
Spanish  kitchen  a  certain  hidalgo  is  said  to  have  retorted  to 
Philip  the  Fair's  criticism — it  was  on  the  latter's  first  visit 
from  his  own  well-fed  Burgundy — "Yes,  Senor;  and  because 
my  kitchen  is  small  my  house  is  great,"  indicating  that  a 
luxurious  table  had  been   known   to  bring  families  to  ruin.' 

'  On  the  subject  of  Spanish  food  and  table  customs  there  is  a  precious  account  in  the 
Voyage  de  PhiUppe  le  Beau  en  Espagne,  by  Antoine  de  Lalaing,  Seigneur  de  Montigny, 
published  in  Brussels  in  1876.  Lalaing,  who  was  Philip's  chamberlain,  relates  how  each 
invited  guest  brought  his  own  silver  and  how  at  a  banquet  at  the  casa  real  there  was 
displayed  on  the  table  the  plate  of  the  five  grandees  present.  On  the  same  occasion 
caballeros  of  lesser  rank  served  the  repast  "with  plenty  of  noise  and  disorder."  An- 
other curious  custom  was  that  of  inviting  the  much  cloistered  ladies  to  dine  by  the 
devious  means  of  sending  savor}''  cooked  dishes  to  their  home.  These  were  borne 
through  the  streets  by  a  procession  of  gorgeously  liveried  servants  whose  coming  was 
watched  from  the  palace  windows  by  the  sheltered  ones. 


112     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  the  CastiHan  never  was, 
even  in  his  greatest  affluence,  a  gormand,  and  that  to  this  day 
the  monotonous  cocido  or  boiled  chick-peas  and  pork  satisfies 
every  family  in  the  land  every  day  of  the  year.  The  entire 
question  of  food  preparation  being  regarded  with  comparative 
indifference,  the  kitchen  never  outgrew  its  primitive  incon- 
spicuousness  and  never  gathered  around  it  those  kitchen  offices, 
pantries,  laundries,  passages,  and  entrances  that  were  indis- 
pensable, even  fundamental,  in  Haddon  Hall  and  other  early 
English  mansions.  In  English  planning  such  features  were 
not  only  accommodated  but  were  an  important  department 
in  the  early  builder's  consideration.  As  early  as  1542  an 
English  Doctor  of  Physicke  published  a  guide  for  the  layout 
of  the  house  from  the  sanitary  point  of  view.  He  advises 
among  other  things  that  the  buttery  and  pantry  be  placed 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  great  hall  with  the  cellar  under  them 
and  entered  from  the  pantry;  the  larder  should  be  annexed 
to  the  kitchen;  and  the  stables,  slaughter-house,  etc.,  should  be 
a  certain  distance  away.  No  one  appears  to  have  been  con- 
cerned with  these  questions  in  Spain.  In  the  Spanish  layout 
there  were  no  such  complications ;  through  one  main  entrance 
all  entered,  high  and  low;  up  the  one  broad  stair  everything 
was  carried  to  the  family  apartments  on  the  piso  pri7icipal 
without  any  offense  to  the  sense  of  fitness;  and  although 
laundry  work  was  done  from  time  immemorial  on  the  river 
banks  there  was  still  enough  of  it  performed  at  home  to  keep 
the  windows  and  balconies  of  the  main  facade  festooned  with 
drying  linen  just  as  one  sees  them  to-day  in  even  the  most 
modern  urban  residences.  On  the  first  or  ground  floor  there 
was  only  one  master's  room,  the  recibidor;  the  rest  being 
given  over  to  servants  and  animals.  On  the  main  floor  or  piso 
principal  all  apartments  were  about  the  same  in  appearance 
except  that  the  salon  was  largest  and  sometimes  had  a  dais; 
the  rest  were  known  as  the  linen,  the  tapestry,  the  silver  room, 
and  so  on,  according  to  what  was  stored  in  the  great  carved 
chests  that  stood  against  the  wall.  Never  was  there  a  built- 
in  accessory  that  would  have  differentiated  one  chamber 
from  another.     The  client,  it  will  be  seen,  was  not  exacting 


HOMES  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA  113 

with  his  architect;  and  the  latter,  lacking  the  stimulus  that 
would  have  come  from  a  more  highly  developed  domestic 
machinery,  never  emerged  from  the  elementary  in  domestic 
planning. 

Finally  there  is  another  aspect  of  the  sixteenth-century 
house  which  harks  back  to  the  defensive  Gothic — the  com- 
plete absence  of  grounds  or  garden  treatment.  In  the  city 
this  might  have  been  justifiable  to  a  certain  extent  for  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  proud  noble  who  owned  a  whole 
town,  squalid  though  we  of  to-day  may  think  it,  always  chose 
its  heart,  the  stony  little  plaza,  as  the  site  for  his  palace;  but 
in  the  country  the  lack  of  setting  must  be  explained  either 
by  the  Spaniard's  scant  love  of  trees  or  else  by  a  lingering 
misgiving  in  the  security  of  the  times.  Be  this  as  it  may  one 
would  look  in  vain  for  the  setting  of  garden  and  landscape 
architecture  that  gave  so  much  charm  to  the  Italian  villa. 
Gardens  in  the  grand  sense  there  are  none  in  Castile  except 
the  few  royal  parks  created  in  the  eighteenth  century  by 
Frenchmen  at  the  command  of  the  Bourbons;  and  in  the 
smaller,  more  intimate  sense,  there  is  nothing.  A  few  potted 
plants  suflliced.  It  has  been  aptly  said  that  the  only  truly 
Spanish  garden  is  that  found  in  the  old  monastery  cloisters — 
**The  shrunken  survival  during  the  Middle  Ages  of  the  grand 
gardens  of  antiquity  and  enclosed,  like  the  shrunken  learning 
of  the  time,  within  convent  walls."  This  lack  of  setting  is 
accepted  without  comment  by  Spanish  writers  but  it  strikes 
the  foreign  architect  harshly.^  Castile  in  spite  of  its  stern 
and  treeless  aspect  can  be  made  to  produce  a  wealth  of  trees, 
shrubs  and  flowers,  and  surely  gardens  could  have  been 
created  had  they  been  considered  a  desirable  accessory  to  the 
palace. 

All  the  characteristics  described  above  are  exemplified 
in  the  still  magnificent  though  dilapidated  palace  at  Penaranda, 
a  product  of  Francisco  de  Colonia  or  one  of  his  associates. 

»  Perhaps  nothing  speaks  more  eloquently  of  this  inappreciation,  persisting  even 
until  to-day,  than  the  fact  that  tlie  well-stocked  Fine  Arts  section  of  the  Ateneo  Library 
in  Madrid  possesses  but  one  book  on  the  subject — a  French  treatise  on  French  gardens. 
As  to  Don  Santiago  Rusinol's  beautiful  portfolio  Jardines  de  Espana  it  is  made  up  of 
southern  Moorish  gardens  and  royal  parks. 


114     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

It  stands  in  what  to-day  is  a  remote  and  forgotten  corner  of 
the  province  of  Burgos  but  what  used  to  be  the  important 
seat  of  the  Sefiores  de  Penaranda  de  Duero.  Since  the  early 
sixteenth  century  when  one  of  them,  a  Caballero  of  the  Golden 
Fleece,  Viceroy  and  Captain  General  of  Navarre,  Member  of 
Council  of  State  and  War  for  Charles  V,  Majordomo  of  the 
Empress  Dona  Isabel,  etc.,  etc.,^  built  his  palace  here  nothing 
has  changed,  and  one  can  easily  form  an  idea  of  the  surround- 
ings which  were  then  considered  adequate  for  a  lordly  mansion. 
It  stands  on  the  bald  stony  plaza  with  neither  approach  nor 
treatment  of  any  kind.  It  was  clearly  the  only  house  of 
importance  in  the  village,  and  its  rich  portal  and  windows  are 
in  marked  contrast  to  the  humble  dwellings  that  elbow  it 
familiarly  on  both  sides.  The  two-storied  facade  is  of  impos- 
ing length,  some  200  feet  exclusive  of  an  adjoining  older  por- 
tion; but  except  for  the  fine  entrance  and  fenestration  it  is 
disappointingly  crude — devoid  of  cornice  and  other  moulds,  and 
with  its  stone  facing  lacking  all  the  quality  of  good  masonry. 
The  portal  (Plate  XXI)  is  at  once  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing and  singular  in  Spain.  From  a  photograph  one  might 
say  that  it  was  composed  of  Roman  fragments,  and  the  con- 
jecture would  not  be  far  wrong  for  the  Roman  town  of  Clunia 
a  few  miles  distant  was  still  abundant  in  architectural  treasures 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  Only  a  few  were  introduced  here 
but  these  served  to  inspire  the  character  of  the  rest  of  the 
detail.  This  classic  influence  accounted  for,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  remainder  emanated  from  Francisco  de  Colonia  or 
his  disciples,  but  is  much  more  skillfully  treated  than  the 
Pellejeria  doorway  of  Burgos  Cathedral.  The  lower  half  of 
the  composition  is  severely  plain,  a  post  and  lintel  treatment 
of  red  marble  very  Castilian  in  its  massive  proportions.     At 

'  He  was  brother  to  the  bishop  of  Burgos  with  whom  he  joined  forces  in  rebuilding 
in  the  Renaissance  style  the  Monastery  of  La  Vid  a  few  stations  east  of  Aranda  on  the 
Valladolid-Ariza  railroad.  Many  of  the  family  tombs  are  there,  his  with  the  inscrip- 
tion "Here  lies  the  most  illustrious  Senor  Don  Francisco  de  Zuniga  y  Avcllaneda  Conde 
de  Miranda  and  Senor  of  the  house  of  Avellaneda  son  of  the  most  illustrious  Sefiores 
the  Conde  Pedro  de  Zuniga  and  the  Condcsa  Catalina  de  Velasco  died  1536."  He  was 
therefore  related  to  the  Fonsecas  who  built  palaces  in  Salamanca,  to  the  Velascos  and 
Mirandas  who  built  in  Burgos,  and  to  the  Mendozas  of  the  Palacio  del  Infantado  at 
Guadalajara. 


PLATE  XXI 


r*^Cx.j]if^,,,..ijff,, 


ItjT^W' 


■  .J^L'lUr-''''^"  jy 


t^iS^^ 


A    i-. 


■gii»,>#-.iiri!>jl.i  ^ir  j'm    -^  V* 


PORTAL  OF  THE  PALACIO  DE  PEXAR-\NDA  DE  DUERO. 
Attributed  to  Francisco  dc  Colonia,  ca.  1530. 


115 


HOMES  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA 


117 


either  side  are  sandstone  pilasters  with  decorative  panels  of 
classic  trophies  designed  in  harmony  with  the  Roman  busts 
above.  Of  far  greater  interest  is  the  upper  half,  for  aside  from 
its    unique    arrangement,    the    carved    detail    in    the  coffered 


Fig.  36 — Upper  Cloister  of  the  Patio  at  Penaranda. 


reveal  of  the  arch,  the  heraldic  motifs  in  the  tympanum,  and 
the  over-arch  cornice  are  very  effective.  The  hand  of  Fran- 
cisco is  most  noticeable  in  the  spandrels,  in  the  radial  orna- 
ment of  the  main  archivolt  panel,  and  in  the  lunette  at  the 
top  with  its  surrounding  decoration — which  last  was  irresistible 
to  him.  The  windows  are  entirely  his  with  their  diminutive 
lunettes  and  their  ornament  bearing  that  peculiar  plastic  or 
stamped  quality — the  sign  manual  of  the  Colonia  school. 
The  difference  between  this  facade  and  that  of  any  Italian 
palace  of  similar  importance  is  too  striking  to  need  comment; 
the  one  a  systematized  arrangement  of  laying  out,  a  rhyth- 
mic succession  of  refined  motifs;  the  other  a  bald  facade  of 
crude  masonry  relieved  only  by  incoherent  spots  of  rich 
ornamentation. 


118     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Entering  the  palace  one  meets  a  bare  untreated  vestibule 
with  the  usual  stone  benches  where  the  higher  nobility  dis- 
mounted (those  of  lesser  rank  passed  in  on  foot).  Beyond 
and  to  the  right  may  be  seen  the  patio  through  a  door  as  much 


Fig.  37 — Detail  of  Doorway  of  the  Palace  of  Pefiaranda. 

off  axis  as  if  the  Gothic  necessity  of  impeding  a  hostile  rush  to 
the  court  still  existed.  The  patio  is  54  feet  square  in  the 
open  and  is  treated  much  more  architecturally  than  the  facade 
but  the  detail  is  rather  perfunctory.  No  matter  how  severe 
a  Spanish  patio  may  be,  the  composition  of  the  roofs  with  the 
lean-to  of  the  upper  cloister  gallery  finishing  a  few  feet  below 
the  eaves  of  the  main  wall,  always  imparts  a  picturesqueness, 
which  is  the  case  here  (Fig.  36).  Two  arches  of  the  lower 
cloister  open  onto  the  once  magnificent  stairhall,  now  a  sorry 
picture  of  neglect  and  decay.  Of  the  stairway  itself  only  the 
steps  remain,  the  balustrade  having  long  ago  disappeared. 
The  stairhall  was  once  crowned  by  an  unusually  sumptuous 
artesonado  of  which  much  has  fallen  down  but  what  is  left  is 


PLATE  XXII 


DILAPIDATED  ARTESONADO  0\'ER  THE  STAIRWAY  OF  THE  PALACIO  DE 

PEXARAXDA  DE  DUERO. 


119 


HOMES  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA 


121 


sufficient  to  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  original  (Plate  XXII).  It 
was  carved  in  soft  pine  like  all  the  ceilings  of  the  palace  and 
shows  no  trace  of  ever  having  been  painted  or  gilded.  The 
greater  part  of  the  design  is  in  pure  Renaissance,  with  motifs 


Fig.  38 — Doorway  from  Patio  to  Main  Salon  in  the  Palacio  de 
Pefiaranda  de  Duero. 

and  detail  which  exhibit  in  their  arrangement  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  decorative  side  of  the  new  style.  The 
chief  feature  of  the  carving  is  the  panels  of  amorini  with  the 
ubiquitous  family  escutcheon.  Not  only  for  its  ornamental 
value  should  this  proud  display  of  lineage  be  appreciated  by 
the  student  of  Spanish  palaces  but  because,  in  the  absence 
of  records,  it  is  often  the  only  clue  to  identifying  the  founder. 
In  this  case  where  the  family  archivo  was  destroyed  by  fire 
and  the  inscription  on  the  portal  is  half  illegible,  it  is  particu- 


122     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

larly  helpful.  Immediately  under  the  heraldic  panels  runs  a 
band  of  Moorish  stalactites,  next  a  row  of  classic  mouldings, 
and  below  this  again  a  rich  frieze  of  Arab  interlacings  in  yese- 
ria,  each  of  the  three  stages  remarkable  for  the  clear  demarca- 


FiG.  39 — ^Wooden  Artesonado  and  Yeseria  Doorway  in 
the  Main  Salon  at  Pefiaranda  de  Duero. 


tion  of  style  preserved.  Apparently  Moorish  and  Spanish 
artizans  worked  side  by  side.  It  is  known  that  the  Moriscos 
lingered  in  this  inland  province  long  after  the  first  expulsion 
decree  (1568)  unable  to  get  to  the  coast,  and  that  as  late  as 
1595  they  built  a  ceiling  in  the  Corpus  Cristi  Chapel  in 
Burgos    Cathedral.      But  while    Moors  were   entrusted  with 


PLATE  XXIII 


P  I  e.  J  I  £  .-     \vV  1 1 


r 

m 

1 

Ibc 

1   ^1  i 

> 

1      ir-in 

!l       II       : 

!!      II   i 

i^ 

II       1 

1      TTl 

II 

1 

11      i      il 

1 

SECTION 


PEKARANDA 

SALON  WNDOW  ^WITH 
YESERl^  ORNAMENT 
AND  WOOD  SHVTTER^ 


WINDOW  WITH  YESERIA  IN  THE  PALACIO  DE  PENARANDA  DE  DUERO. 


123 


PLATE  XXIV 


DILAPIDATED  ARTESONADO  IN  A  SMALL  SALON  OF  THE  PALACIO  DE 
PENAR.\XDA  DE  DL^RO. 


125 


HOMES  AND  THE  PALACE  AT  PENARANDA  127 

the  carpinteria  at  Penaranda,  the  heraldic  panels  in  question 
and  other  Renaissance  carvings  were  probably  produced  by 
Spaniards.  One  can  hardly  believe,  however,  that  it  was 
Francisco  who  furnished  the  design  for  this  spirited  work. 

On  the  second  or  main  story  of  the  palace  is  a  series  of 
impressive  salons  opening  from  each  other  and  not,  as  is 
usual,  from  the  patio.  The  main  salon  (Fig.  39)  is  an  imposing 
room  62  feet  long  and  has  a  ceiling  practically  intact  and  which 
must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest  achievements  in  wood- 
work of  the  period.  Except  for  the  treatment  of  the  canted 
corners  there  is  nothing  Oriental  about  it,  not  even  in  the 
design  of  the  subsidiary  plaster  frieze.  It  is  curious  that  the 
Moors  who  had  so  little  appreciation  of  the  structurability 
of  the  dome  were  yet  so  enamored  of  its  form  that  they  were 
willing  to  go  to  no  end  of  trouble  to  secure  either  a  vaulted 
or  a  domical  techumbre.  Having  obtained  it,  the  corners  or 
pendentives  always  remained  a  weak  note  but  the  wooden 
fabric  permitted  of  cleverly  concealing  the  fact  by  elaborate 
stalactite  ornament.  This  problem  became  even  more  irk- 
some for  Renaissance  workers,  since  the  basic  principle  of  their 
design  demanded  greater  structurability;  for  years  after  the 
rest  of  the  ceiling  had  been  classicized  the  oriental  corners 
remained  a  stumbling  block;  in  the  example  under  considera- 
tion they  are  the  only  unsatisfying  note.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  shell  motif  was  not  resorted  to  as  a  solution.  The 
ceiling  is  arranged  in  three  planes  and  hipped  at  the  ends. 
Rows  of  coffered  octagons  with  the  traditional  pendant  in  the 
intervening  lozenge  make  up  the  body  of  the  design.  It  is 
the  frieze,  part  wood  and  part  plaster,  that  is  the  chef  d'oeuvre 
of  the  whole  (Fig.  40) ;  the  wood  being  vigorously  carved  in  a 
theme  of  finely  modeled  figures  separated  by  rinceau  ornament, 
and  the  plaster,  or  secondary  frieze,  being  an  equally  admirable 
piece  of  Renaissance  ornamentation  but  at  reduced  scale. 
Plaster  is  again  seen  in  the  architectural  framing  of  the  doors 
and  windows  of  the  main  salon.  These  openings  including 
the  handsome  double  door  of  carved  wood  surrounded  by  a 
rich  band  of  patterned  yeseria  that  leads  to  the  patio,  and  the 
three  windows  opening  onto  the  plaza,  similarly  framed  and 


128     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

with  unusually  heavy  shutters  in  lieu  of  glass,  are  among  the 
finest  examples  of  Mudejar  work  in  Spain  (Plate  XXIII). 
The  shutters  referred  to  are  particularly  good  bits  of  carpentry, 
and  the  splendid  wrought  hardware  on  them  is  still  intact  in 


Fig.  40 — Wooden  Frieze  Supporting  the  Ceiling  of  the  Main  Salon  in 
the  Palace  of  Penaranda  de  Duero. 


spite  of  most  of  the  shutters  having  long  ago  been  wrenched 
from  their  hinges  and  left  to  rot  on  the  floor  under  the  snow 
drifts  that  pile  up  in  the  winter.  The  remaining  features  of 
the  salon,  two  smaller  doorways,  a  minstrel  gallery,  and  a 
chimney-piece,  are  adorned  entirely  in  yeseria  typical  of  the 
Burgalese  school — that  is  devoid  of  relief  or  variety,  and 
inferior  in  every  way  to  that  previously  mentioned.  Con- 
sidering how  Mudejar  this  palace  is  in  certain  respects,  it  is 
strange  that  azulejos  are  so  sparingly  employed.  Excepting 
for  a  dado  that  runs  around  the  entire  piso  principal  including 
the  patio,  and  the  flooring  of  a  small  room  near  the  stairs, 
probably  an  oratory,  tiles  were  not  used.  The  dado  is  only 
17  inches  high  and  is  formed  of  upright  plain  red  tiles  bor- 
dered top  and  bottom  by  a  narrow  strip  of  blue  and  white 
patterned  azulejos,  the  same  in  every  room. 

Left  and  right  of  the  principal  salon  is  a  series  of  smaller 
rooms  notable  only  for  their  artesonados,  some  Moorish  as 


THE  DOMESTIC  PLAN  129 

in  Plate  XXIV,  others  Renaissance.  All  these  are  marvels 
of  carpentry  and  make,  along  with  the  plainer  rooms  at  the 
back  of  the  patio,  a  veritable  museum  of  ceilings.  More  the 
pity  that  all  are  fallen  to  pieces — pieces  of  convenient  size 
for  firewood.  Certain  Spaniards  are  still  bitter  over  the  re- 
moval from  Zaragoza  of  the  Casa  Zaporta,  some  years  ago, 
by  a  Frenchman;  but  no  native  seems  willing  to  save  this 
marvelous  collection  of  artesonados.  The  last  inheritor  of  the 
Penaranda  palace  was  the  ex-empress  of  the  French  whose 
illustrious  father  lies  in  the  church  opposite.  Her  present 
tenant  is  a  lumber  merchant  who  has  installed  a  saw-mill 
in  the  grand  stair-hall  and  has  filled  the  piso  principal  with 
sawed  boards,  until  one  dreads  to  think  of  the  consequences 
of  a  stray  spark  hurried  along  by  the  gusts  that  tear  through 
the  gaping  windows.  Altogether  a  sadder  picture  of  neglect 
and  abuse  would  be  hard  to  find  even  in  Spain. 


CHAPTER  V 

SALAMANCA 

MANY  RENAISSANCE  BUILDINGS  IN  SALAMANCA — ANTIQUITY  AND  FAME 

OF    SALAMANCA    UNIVERSITY THE   CITY    IN    GOTHIC   TIMES — RENAISSANCE 

EMBELLISHMENT    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    BUILDINGS    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  FAQADE — THE  ESCUELAS  MENORES  OR  PREPARATORY 
SCHOOL — INTERIOR  WORK  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY — PALACES  AND  THEIR 
DIVISION  INTO  TWO  GROUPS — NEAREST  APPROACH  TO  THE  ITALIAN  IN  THE 
PALACES  BUILT  BY  THE  FONSECA  BISHOPS — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CASA 
SALINA — THE  CASA  DE  LAS  MUERTES — THE  MALDONADO  HOUSES  OPPOSITE 
THE  CHURCH  OF  SAN  BENITO — THE  PALACIO  MONTEREY  LARGEST  IN  SALA- 
MANCA  SEVERAL    SMALL    EXAMPLES THE    DOMINICAN    CHURCH    OF    SAN 

ESTEBAN  —  ARCHBISHOP     FONSECA's     COLEGIO     DE     SANTIAGO     APOSTOL, 

NOW  COLEGIO   DE   LOS   IRLANDESES PEDRO  DE   IBARRA — ARCHITECTURAL 

SCULPTURE  BY  BERRUGUETE  AND  HIS  SCHOOL  IN  SALAMANCA 


130 


CHAPTER  V 

SALAMANCA 

SALAMANCA,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  ancient  king- 
dom of  Leon,  is  the  most  Renaissance  city  in  Spain. 
To  explain  its  sixteenth  century  building  activity  it 
might  almost  suffice  to  state  that  the  Fonsecas  lived  there; 
but  the  city's  civil  importance  also  accounts  for  much.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  it  held  a  celebrated 
seat  of  learning  which  soon  ranked  by  papal  decree  as  one  of  the 
"four  lamps  of  the  world"  and  to  which  during  the  era  under 
discussion  more  than  seven  thousand  students  were  flocking 
from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  globe.  Salamanca  had  always 
been  a  city  of  patrician  families  but  these  by  their  private 
feuds  and  political  factions  (in  which  the  students  took  a 
lively  part)  had  kept  it  in  a  constant  state  of  upheaval  until 
the  strong  rule  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  destroyed  feudalism 
and  established  orderly  government.  The  changes  through 
which  Salamantine  society  passed  may  be  read  in  the  architec- 
ture of  the  city;  houses  of  the  fourteenth  century  had  thick 
walls,  high  windows,  and  strong  towers;  those  of  the  fifteenth 
lost  their  warlike  aspect  and  began  to  indulge  in  the  amenities 
of  art.  The  sixteenth  opened  tranquilly  with  great  building 
projects  afoot — a  new  cathedral,  the  expansion  of  the  univer- 
sity, and  many  new  palaces.  It  was  in  the  erection  of  these 
last  that  the  Fonseca  prelates  were  the  leaders.  Of  the 
cathedral  there  is  little  to  be  said  not  only  because,  being 
Gothic,  its  style  is  out  of  our  period  but  because  the  famous 
junta  of  architects  who  decided  on  its  site  placed  it  where  it 
both  hid  and  disfigured  its  magnificent  Romanesque  predeces- 
sor; the  secular  work  mentioned  was  all  in  Plateresque.     Much 

isi 


1S2     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

of  it  was  destroyed  during  the  War  of  Liberation  when  the 
French  converted  the  city  into  a  fortified  phice  and  pulled 
down  a  large  area;  but  enough  remains  to  make  Salamanca  the 
classic  site  of  Castile. 

As  far  back  as  1480,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  had  decided 
that  the  poor  plain  buildings  which  housed  the  University  of 
Salamanca  were  unworthy  of  its  international  fame.  These 
had  been  erected  in  the  time  of  the  antipope  Benedict  XIII 
(Don  Pedro  de  Luna  of  Zaragoza),  and  those  concerned  were 
too  occupied  with  the  great  schism  and  the  Councils  of  Con- 
stance and  Basel  to  pay  attention  to  collegiate  architecture. 
Many  recitation  rooms  were  dark  and  damp,  j^et  the  order 
of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  did  not  consider  a  newer  and  better 
type  of  building,  but  merely  the  embellishment  of  the  one 
already  standing.  Exteriorly  only  the  main  entrance  of  the 
university  proper  and  the  facade  of  the  Escuelas  Menores 
or  lower  school  ever  reached  completion.  The  authors  have 
never  been  discovered  nor  the  exact  date  when  the  work  was 
commenced,  but  there  is  a  sophistication  about  it  that  could 
hardly  have  been  achieved  earlier  than  1525  or  1530.  Several 
Spanish  writers  have  suggested  that  it  was  designed  by  En- 
rique de  Egas  because  as  visiting  architect  to  the  cathedral,  he 
came  to  Salamanca  in  1522,  1529,  and  again  in  1534;  but  the 
whole  scheme  shows  so  much  intimacy  with  the  Italian  and 
at  the  same  time  is  so  distinctly  local  that  it  is  more  probably 
the  product  of  some  unknown  Salamantine  master.  It  is  re- 
corded that  Italians  were  working  in  the  city  before  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century  and  it  is  perfectly  conceivable  that 
these  and  their  Spanish  successors,  encouraged  by  the  Fon- 
secas,  would  have  developed  a  local  school  which  owed  nothing 
to  Egas.  A  point  of  superiority  in  the  Salamanca  buildings 
is  the  perfect  stereotomy  and  structural  details  often  sadly 
lacking  in  Enrique's  work. 

The  embellishment  of  the  university,  the  most  brilliant 
piece  of  Plateresque  in  the  land,  does  not  embrace  the  entire 
facade  but  merely  features  the  main  entrance  (Fig.  41). 
Adhering  to  local  traditions  it  retains  certain  Gothic  remi- 
niscences in  composition  and  detail,  but  exhibits  a  consummate 


PLATE  XXV 


DETAIL  FRO^r  THE  FACADE  OF  THE  UXIVERSrrY  OF  SALA^L\XCA. 
Ca,  1530.     Architect  Unknown. 


133 


PLATE  XXVI 


PORTAL  OF  THE  ESCUELAS  MENORES.  SALA^LVXCA. 

Ca.  I  S3  5-     Architect  Unhnoii'n. 
135 


SALAMANCA 


137 


appreciation  of  Renaissance  in  its  exquisite  ornamental  qual- 
ity. Something  of  the  same  delicacy  may  be  seen  in  the 
church  of  La  Madonna  dei  Miracoli  in  Brescia  but  the  Spanish 
example  is  unquestionably  superior  in  its  feeling  of  exterior 


Fig.  41 — Facade  of  the  University  of  Salamanca. 
Ca.  1530.     Architect  Unknown. 


appropriateness.  The  scale  of  the  ornament  varies  from 
extreme  minuteness  in  the  lower  panels  to  considerable  bold- 
ness in  the  uppermost,  but  in  these  last  the  architect  may  be 
justly  criticized  for  having  carried  his  theory  of  perspective  a 
little  too  far.  The  whole  panel  as  it  rises  above  the  twin  arches 
is  a  remarkable  array  of  pure  Italian  foliated  ornament  but  en- 


l.'?8     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

livened  by  portrait  medallions  and  the  heraldic  devices  so 
specially  requisite  in  this  locality  (see  Plate  XXV).  The  main 
blazon  is  that  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  but  the  double-headed 
eagle  of  Charles  is  also  present  to  prove  that  the  new  front 


Fig.  42 — Detail  from  the  Portal  of  the  Escuelas  Menores,  Salamanca. 
Ca.  1535.     Architect  Unknown. 

was  in  progress  during  his  reign.  In  the  uppermost  division  is 
a  relief  of  the  pope  dispensing  privileges  which  commemo- 
rates the  fact  that  Salamanca  University  was  under  pontifi- 
cal as  well  as  royal  protection.  The  cresting  that  surmounts 
the  panel  is  a  Gothic  remnant  highly  developed  hereabouts 
and  retained  throughout  the  century.  The  Salamanca  stone 
used,  whitish  when  quarried  but  soon  taking  on  a  won- 
derful burnished  tone,  was  particularly  suited  to  this  sort  of 
carving  and  might  be  aged  terra  cotta,  so  delicate  is  it  to  the 
eye.  Taken  as  a  whole  this  last  addition  to  the  facade  will 
always  be  considered  as  the  gem  of  the  Plateresque  style  and 
one  of  the  finest  decorative  achievements  of  the  epoch  in  Europe. 


SALAMANCA  139 

Less  distinguished  but  harmonizing  with  the  above  is 
the  small  facade  to  the  grammar  school  or  Colegio  de  Es- 
tudios  Menores  (Plate  XXVI).  This  is  close  by  at  the 
other  end  of  the  quiet  little  plaza  that  holds  the  statue  of 
the  great  scholar  and  poet  Fray  Luis  de  Leon — an  altogether 
unique  spot  which  seems  to  be  enveloped  in  the  mellow  glow 
of  the  yellow  sandstone  that  walls  it  in.  The  scheme  of  the 
Escuelas  Menores  is  also  a  decorative  panel  surmounting  a 
twin  arch,  but  here  the  treatment  of  the  arch  is  later  as  might 
be  expected  from  the  fact  that  only  Charles  V's  escutcheon 
is  used.  The  work  might,  indeed,  have  been  completed  as 
late  as  1535.  In  general  there  is  much  less  nicety  of  work- 
manship but  charming  detail  is  not  lacking.  In  the  archi- 
volt  are  the  amorini  heads  so  persistently  used  in  the  same 
way  by  the  Fonseca  architect  and  perhaps  indicating  in  the 
])resent  instance  that  the  primate  Alfonso,  a  graduate  of  the 
university,  was  interested  in  furthering  the  work.  Certain 
it  is  that  after  his  death  in  1534,  the  embellishment  of  the 
buildings  flagged.  Visitors  are  generally  curious  about  the 
red  lettering  seen  here  and  on  several  private  houses  around 
the  plaza;  it  refers  to  illustrious  students.  Names  were  in- 
variably preceded  by  the  Latin  victor  in  monogram  and 
though  applied  surreptitiously  they  were  by  no  means  daubed 
on  but  gracefully  lettered. 

We  now  come  to  the  interior  of  the  university.  The 
order  for  ornamenting  this  ancient  seat  of  learning  was 
a  big  one  and  both  funds  and  enthusiasm  gave  out  before 
much  had  been  accomplished.  Inside,  therefore,  there  is 
little  more  to  enumerate  than  the  staircase,  the  library,  and 
the  rebuilding  of  the  patio.  The  impressive  stairhall,  a  fine 
piece  of  Gothic,  contains  a  handsome  stair  ramp  in  which 
touches  of  the  nev/  style  aj)pear  (Plate  XXVII).  Salaman- 
tine  architects  were  slow  to  relinquish  the  ramp  in  favor  of 
the  Italian  baluster  rail,  as  a  much  later  example  in  the  Palacio 
de  San  Boal  testifies.  On  the  one  in  question  the  theme  of 
the  carving  is  a  fifteenth-century  bull-fight  quaintly  conven- 
tionalized. The  knights  and  ladies  depicted  are  very  Gothic 
but  this  medievalism  is  accompanied  by  mouldings  and  orna- 


140     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

mental  motifs  in  the  new  style.  The  continuity  of  the  scene 
is  hardly  interrupted  by  the  landing  for  the  problem  of  the 
ramp  at  the  corners  is  admirably  solved.  The  patio  is  an 
uninspired  piece  of  work  but  the  covered  gallery  of  each  story 


Fig.  43 — Decorated  Wooden  Ceiling  in  the  Patio  of  the  University, 

Salamanca. 


has  an  interesting  though  incomplete  ceiling,  the  lower  of 
which  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  43.  It  is  very  simple  carpentry  but 
made  effective  by  color  decoration;  the  upper  is  more  typical 
with  Moorish  coffers  set  into  Renaissance  frames.  The 
library,  remodeled  in  the  eighteenth  century,  preserves  only 
its  handsome  Plateresque  reja;  but  it  is  still  rich  in  literary 
treasures  in  spite  of  Philip  IPs  having  burned  thousands  of 
volumes  that  smacked  of  the  Reformation  and  other  heresies. 
Other  fragments  deserving  of  attention  may  be  found  through- 
out the  university  group  but  nothing  to  compete  with  the 
subtle  affiliation  of  medievalism  and  Renaissance  in  the 
main  facade. 

As  has  been  said  Gothic  Salamanca  contained  many 
powerful  and  noble  families  and  these  made  the  escutcheon 
the  chief  outer  adornment  of  their  solar.     Passing  through 


PLATE  XXVII 


STAIR  RAMP  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  SALAMANCA. 
Early  Sixteenth  Century.    Architect  Unknown. 


141 


SALAMANCA  US 

the  streets  to-day  one  may  read  how  the  first  thought  of 
every  proprietor  was  pride  of  race.  The  sangre  livipia  back 
of  all  this  heraldry  meant  too  much  to  permit  of  relinquishing 
the  outward  and  visible  sign,  so  the  Renaissance  architect 
had  to  turn  the  escutcheon  to  decorative  account  in  his  work. 
Thus  though  hardly  an  architect's  name  is  known,  it  is  still 
possible  to  identify  his  client  by  the  coat  of  arms.  Broadly 
speaking  palaces  may  be  thrown  into  two  groups,  one  of 
horizontal  composition,  the  other  of  vertical;  both  retain 
certain  traditional  forms,  sometimes  the  round  arched  en- 
trance with  massive  voussoirs,  sometimes  the  perforated 
cresting,  and  always  few  but  highly  interesting  windows. 
In  the  first  group  (and  all  unhappily  renovated)  are  the  Palacio 
de  San  Boal,  the  Casa  Garci-Grande,  the  Palacio  de  los  Mal- 
donados  de  Amatos,  and  many  others  less  typical ;  in  the  second 
and  fortunately  better  preserved  are  the  Casa  de  las  Muertes, 
the  Casa  de  la  Salina,  and  the  Casa  Maldonados  y  Morillo.  In 
addition  to  these  two  classes  are  certain  earlier  houses  to 
which  Plateresque  forms  were  added,  such  as  the  Palacio 
Abarca  Maldonado  in  the  Plaza  de  Fray  Luis  de  Leon  with 
its  two  very  charming  windows,  and  the  remarkable  Casa 
de  las  Conchas  or  House  of  the  Shells  with  an  exceedingly  rich 
patio,  part  Gothic  and  part  Renaissance,  and  a  cresting  in 
which  appears  the  fleur-de-lis  of  the  Maldonados,  whose 
descendants  still  occupy  the  house.  It  was  in  the  small 
vertical  composition,  an  exigency  of  shrinking  city  sites,  that 
the  Salamanca  architect  expressed  his  greatest  appreciation 
of  the  Italian  style;  but  even  in  these  one  must  be  reminded 
that  the  science  of  Renaissance  planning  was  entirely  neglected. 
Going  back  to  houses  of  horizontal  composition  an  im- 
portant example  but  one  that  might  easily  be  overlooked  is 
the  inconspicuous  San  Boal  in  the  little  plaza  of  the  same 
name.  It  is  much  mutilated  as  to  facade  but  a  good  patio 
and  stairway  still  survive.  The  patio  is  two  stories  high 
with  segmental  arches  in  the  second — an  agreeable  change 
from  the  all  too  popular  elliptical.  Fine  portrait  medallions 
fill  the  spandrels  of  the  first  story  arches.  In  the  stairhall, 
over  which   is  a  good   beamed  ceiling,   there  is   a  solid  stair 


144     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

parapet  (Fig.  44)  but  its  rinceau  decoration  is  less  attractive 
than  the  university  example.  Later  than  this  palace  is  the 
Maldonados  de  Amatos,  now  the  Casino.  Although  bar- 
barously reformed,  especially    inside,  its  main  entrance  and 


Fig.  44 — Stair  Newel  from  the  Palacio  de  San  Boal,  Salamanca. 

upper  story  windows  are  intact,  these  last  being  fair  specimens 
of  the  typical  Salamantine  window  of  the  century.  In  the 
historic  Plazuela  de  Santo  Tome  (which  was  the  Plaza  Mayor 
until  the  present  handsome  Churriguerresque  plaza  was 
built)  stands  the  palace  of  the  Garci-Grande  family.  It  is 
now  a  bank.  There  is  no  early  Plateresque  about  it  but  it 
has  a  good  late  entrance  and  two  corner  windows  with  angle 
arches  above — a  fenestral  variation  quite  common  down  the 
west  side  of  Spain. 

Salamanca's  nearest  approach  to  the  Italian  is  in  the  shape 


SALAMANCA  145 

of  the  palaces  erected  by  the  two  Fonseca  bishops.  The  first 
to  be  identified  with  the  city  was  Don  Alfonso,  succes- 
sively bishop  of  Avila,  Santiago,  and  Seville,  and  patriarch 
(self-proclaimed)  of  Alexandria  ''the  which  was  held  in  all 
the  kingdom  as  a  proceeding  very  arbitrary  and  a  bad 
example."  Born  at  Toro,  not  far  north,  Don  Alfonso  was 
related  to  many  illustrious  Salamanca  families  and  accom- 
panied the  Catholic  Sovereigns  there  in  the  late  fifteenth 
century.  His  son  Alfonso,  sometimes  distinguished  from  his 
father  by  the  addition  of  his  mother's  name,  Ulloa,  reached 
even  higher  dignities  and  became  the  archbishop  of  Toledo 
already  mentioned  in  connection  with  Alcala.  He  was  born  in 
Santiago,  Doiia  Maria  de  Ulloa's  home,  where  he  founded  the 
Colegio  de  Fonseca;  but  the  city  for  which  he  had  the  greatest 
predilection  was  Salamanca.  Here,  according  to  an  old  chroni- 
cle, "the  magnanimous  archbishop  liberated  the  city  from  cer- 
tain taxes  in  gratitude  for  which  the  populace  on  appointed  days 
of  the  year  went  in  procession  to  his  chapel  and  held  a  bull-fight 
in  the  patio,  there  killing  two  novillos  (young  bulls)."  The 
chapel  and  patio  referred  to  are  undoubtedly  those  of  the 
Colegio  del  Arzobispo  which  he  added  to  the  university  group. 
There  is  much  confusion  as  to  which  palaces  father  and 
son  were  respectively  responsible  for.  To  the  former  are 
usually  accredited  the  Casa  de  la  Salina  and  the  Casa  de  las 
Muertes.  According  to  popular  tradition  he  erected  the 
former  for  his  mistress  Dona  Maria  de  Ulloa  of  Santiago  whom 
the  shocked  nobility  refused  to  receive  in  their  houses  when 
she  accompanied  him  and  the  court  to  Salamanca;  but  the 
prelate  died  in  15 12,  and  although  the  lower  story  arches  with 
their  Gothiclike  archivolts  may  be  prior  to  that  date.  La 
Salina  as  a  whole  bears  the  impress  of  1535  or  1540.  In  the 
case  of  Las  Muertes,  where  his  bust  appears  on  the  fafade,  the 
English  architect  Andrew  Prentice  accepts  him  as  founder  but 
hazards  the  date  1520.  Prentice  would  not  have  been  far  amiss 
to  have  advanced  it  another  ten  years.  As  to  the  patriarch's 
portrait  it  may  indicate  that  the  son  erected  the  house  in  memory 
of  his  father;  then  there  is  another  account  which  says  it  was 
built  by  the  grateful  Ursulines,  whose  nearby  convent  he  built. 


140     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  Sallna,  so  called  by  the  populace  because  it  was  once 
used  as  a  warehouse  for  salt,  has  suffered  much  inside  from  re- 
peated injudicious  alterations.  The  facade  (Plate  XXVIII) 
presents  a  number  of  interesting  discrepancies  which  are  not 
appreciated  at  first  glance  from  the  narrow  calle.  The  inter- 
columniation,  for  instance,  varies  from  ii  feet  in  the  south 
bay  to  8  feet  in  the  north.  This  savors  more  of  Gothic  capri- 
ciousness  than  Renaissance  system;  yet  by  subtle  adjustment 
of  the  units  in  the  story  above  the  feeling  of  symmetry  is 
restored.  Between  exterior  expression  and  interior  arrange- 
ment one  meets  another  liberty,  for  the  arcade  which  appears 
to  be  a  third  story  is  in  reality  embraced  in  the  lofty  second- 
story  salon.  Notwithstanding,  the  facade  has  considerable 
dignity  and  is  the  only  example  in  Salamanca  employing  the 
first-story  Italian  loggia.  All  above  the  loggia  is  of  local 
treatment,  particularly  the  principal  windows  flanked  by 
colonnettes  and  with  portrait  medallions  above.  At  each 
end  of  the  upper  gallery  is  the  blazon  of  the  Fonsecas,  five 
stars  under  a  crown;  and  in  the  spandrels  of  the  arcade  are 
the  winged  amorini  heads  which  almost  invariably  accompany 
it.  Of  the  interior,  the  best  preserved  feature  is  the  patio, 
reached  by  a  short  flight  of  steps  from  the  loggia.  It  is  ir- 
regularly shaped  with  an  amusing  upper  wooden  gallery  sup- 
ported on  huge  stone  corbels  (zapatas).  These  have  never 
needed  restoration  and,  like  the  loggia,  bring  to  mind  similar 
features  in  northern  Italy.  Their  sides  are  decoratively 
paneled  into  flat  squares  and  the  fronts  are  carved  into  squirm- 
ing grotesques  (Fig.  45)  which,  according  to  current  story, 
represent  the  Salamantine  aristocrats  who  denied  hospitality 
to  Dona  Maria  and  whom  Fonseca,  in  his  revenge,  thus 
placed  under  her  feet. 

In  the  narrow  Calle  de  Bordadores  stands  the  diminutive 
and  charming  house  now  known  by  the  sinister  name  of  Casa 
de  las  Muertes  (Plate  XXIX),  Although  fragments  of  the 
ornament  are  very  Italian  the  whole  is  distinctly  Salamantine 
Plateresque.  Strikingly  local  are  the  abundant  encircled 
bas-reliefs,  and  a  doorway  with  ornamental  lintel  resting  on 
foliated  capitals  (whose  use  and  character  are,  in  this  case, 


w, 


SALAMANCA 


149 


more  Romanesque  than  Renaissance).  The  facade  is  barely 
30  feet  wide.  The  rich  central  motif  of  the  piso  principal  is 
the  nucleus  of  its  treatment,  and  so  dominates  the  narrow 
front  that  the  unsymmetrical  fenestration  is  in  no  way  dis- 


FiG.  45 — Corbels  in  the  Patio  of  the  Casa  de  la  Salina,  Salamanca. 


turbing.  There  is  a  wealth  of  beautiful  Plateresque  ornament 
in  this  feature  (see  Fig.  46);  every  quality  of  the  silversmith's 
art  may  be  detected  in  the  decorative  framing  of  "El  seve- 
risimo  Fonseca,  Patriarca  Alejandrina."  But  with  all  its 
merits  the  house  has  the  defect  common  to  Salamantine  Plat- 
eresque, an  inadequate  cornice.  This  is  merely  a  crude 
sectional  profile  of  the  preceding  century  ornamented  in  the 
new  style.  Inside  the  house  there  is  nothing  of  interest,  its 
small  size  precluding  the  patio  plan.  Owing  to  its  lugubrious 
name  it  has  long  stood  untenanted  but  fortunately  its  artistic 


loO     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

value  is  fully  appreciated  in  the  town  and  this  may  protect 
it  for  many  years  to  come. 

One  of  the  greatest  names  in  Salamanca  annals  is  that  of 
the   Maldonados,   whose  various  branches  enriched   the  city 


Fig.  46 — Motif  from  the  Fagade  of  the  Casa  de  las  Muertes,  Salamanca. 


by  some  half-dozen  sixteenth-century  houses.  Opposite  the 
old  church  of  San  Benito  stands  the  solar  of  the  Maldonados  y 
Morillos  (Plate  XXX),  but  on  its  facade  the  escutcheon  of  the 
Fonsecas  is  even  more  prominently  placed  than  that  of  the 
two  families  mentioned.  The  explanation  is  furnished  by 
the  sepulchral  inscription  in  the  church  across  the  way  which 
says  that  Diego  Maldonado  was  "Camarero  del  ilustrisimo 
sefior  Don  Alfonso  de  Fonseca,  Arzobispo  de  Toledo."  Only 
the  central  motif  now  surrounded  by  stucco  was  architecturally 
treated.     It  is  but   14  feet  wide  and  embraces  nothing  more 


PLATE  XXIX 


ELEVATION  OF  THE  CASA  DE  LAS  MUERTES,  SALAMANCA. 


151 


PLATE  XXX 


PALACIO  DE  LOS  ^L\LDOXADOS  Y  MORILLOS,  SALA.\L\XCA. 

1  .y,i 


SALAMANCA  155 

than  a  door,  a  window,  and  the  blazons  of  the  three  famihes, 
all  beautifully  composed.  Of  these  the  Fonseca  shield  is  so 
thoroughly  Italian  in  design  and  execution  that  it  might  have 
been  brought  bodily  from  the  Library  of  Siena.  It  was 
probably  the  work  of  an  Italian  in  Salamanca  and  as  such 
invites  comparison  with  other  escutcheons  carved  by  Span- 
iards. To  be  graceful,  sensuous,  and  full  of  repose  was  the 
Italian  aim;  to  be  forceful  almost  to  the  point  of  distortion 
was  the  Spanish,  and  this  essential  difference  may  be  found  in 
even  the  smallest  carved  motif.  The  more  placid  type  of 
ornament  can  be  and  has  been  reproduced  in  every  land,  but 
any  present-day  attempt  to  catch  the  violent  Spanish  fails 
even  here  on  its  own  soil. 

Adjoining  the  house  just  described  is  the  Casa  Solis  in 
which  the  Maldonado  quarterings  appear  along  with  those  of 
the  Solis,  Zuiiiga,  and  Abarca  clans.  The  Fonseca  escutcheon 
is  absent  which  may  account  for  this  example  being  less 
Renaissance.  Indeed  nothing  but  the  mouldings  lift  the  main 
entrance  out  of  the  medieval.  Under  the  eaves  extends  a 
perforated  screen  with  intermediate  piers  having  the  form  of 
truncated  columns,  which  led  Prentice  to  believe  that  the 
original  intention  was  to  create  an  open  loggia  at  the  top. 
Close  inspection  of  the  stereotomy,  however,  proves  that 
each  pier  was  cut  to  include  the  adjacent  perforation.  There 
is  no  clue  to  the  date  of  this  little  palace  but  it  is  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  earliest  of  the  century.  The  interior  has  been  so 
completely  remodeled  that  it  is  impossible  to  discover  the 
original  plan. 

The  largest  and  latest  palace  in  Salamanca  is  the  Monterey 
(Fig.  47)  which,  vast  though  it  is,  represents  less  than  half 
of  the  primary  scheme.  Even  this  sumptuous  edifice  was 
neglected  by  the  chroniclers  and  there  is  the  usual  dispute 
as  to  the  founder.  "Surely"  concludes  the  catedratico  Don 
Angel  Apraiz  who  has  spent  much  time  in  investigating  the 
matter,  "it  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Fonseca  archbishops 
united  with  the  Counts  of  Monterey  through  the  marriage  of 
Don  Diego  de  Acebedo,  a  son  of  the  Patriarch  of  Alexandria, 
with  the  Countess  Francisca  de  Zufiiga."     The  escutcheons 


156     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

corroborate  such  an  attribution.  The  builder  was  probably 
Don  Caspar  de  Acebedo  y  Zuhiga,  Count  of  Monterey  and 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  ''from  its  magnificence  may  be  judged 
the  wealth  brought  back  by  those  who  ruled  in  early  America 


^ 


Fig.  47 — Corner  Tower  of  the  Palacio  de  Monterey,  Salamanca.. 

in  the  king's  name,"  as  a  wise  old  writer  significantly  remarks. 
Prentice  suggests  Covarrubias  as  the  architect,  assuming  from, 
the  presence  of  the  Fonseca  shield  that  the  house  was  built 
for  the  archbishop.  Conflicting  dates,  aside  from  the  char- 
acter of  the  work,  make  this  improbable.  In  the  absence  of 
one  intact  facade  by  Covarrubias  any  comparison  between  his 
known  work  and  the  Monterey  must  be  confined  to  details, 
and  none  of  these  bespeak  his  refined  taste.  The  Monterey 
ornament  is  conceived  in  an  entirely  different  spirit  from  thc: 
Alcala — none  the  less  Spanish  but  with  a  strong  appeal  to  the 


SALAMANCA 


15' 


popular  element.  So  well  did  it  succeed  in  this  respect  that 
the  palace  has  been  the  model  for  every  World's  Fair  building 
that  Spain  has  ever  had  occasion  to  erect.  As  to  plan  the 
palace  was  to  face  on  four  streets,  to  enclose  a  large  quadrangle, 


3JE:?mesr-\»«i 


Fig.  48 — Colegio  de  San  Ildefonso,  Salamanca. 


and  to  have  four  corner  towers  and  an  additional  one  in  the 
center  of  each  long  side.  Only  one  long  side  was  built.  Be- 
sides its  towers,  the  most  notable  features  of  the  exterior  are 
the  chimneys  and  the  cresting.  This  latter,  with  well  modeled 
figures  strangely  distorted,  is  very  Spanish;  and  the  former, 
rarely  featured  on  even  the  most  monumental  Spanish  build- 
ings, are  here  so  prominent  in  the  silhouette  that  they  recall  the 
highly  architecturalized  chimneys  of  the  Henri  II  period  in 
France.  This  house  has  now  passed  by  descent  to  the  Alba 
family,  who  also  own  the  palace  at  Penaranda  de  Bracamonte, 
some  twenty-five  miles  east  of  Salamanca. 

In  addition  to  the  preceding  are  a  few  simpler  examples 
that  repay  searching  out;  among  these  are  the  old  Lonja  and 
a  house  with  the  Pizarra  escutcheon  in  the  little  Plazuela  del 
Peso;  the  Colegio  de  San  Ildefonso  (Fig.  48)  on  the  Plaza  de 


158     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Santo  Tomas;  and  the  amusing  little  house  adjoining  the 
university  and  built,  as  the  escutcheon  indicates,  by  that 
body. 

Salamanca  contains,  besides  its  palaces,  two  highly  devel- 
oped sixteenth-century  structures  of  prime  importance,  one 
the  convent-church  of  San  Esteban  and  the  other  the  Colegio 
de  Santiago  Apostol,  added  to  his  alma  mater  by  Don  Alfonso 
de  Fonseca  y  Ulloa.  This  was  popularly  known  as  the  Colegio 
del  Arzobispo  until  it  was  given  over  to  Irish  priests,  who  first 
came  to  study  in  Salamanca  in  the  time  of  Philip  II.  Hence 
its  designation  as  El  Colegio  de  los  Nobles  Irlandeses.  It  is 
pleasant  to  record  that  the  "Irish  nobles"  appreciate  their 
lordly  home  and  reclaim  it  as  means  permit.  Both  this  and 
the  convent-church  were  begun  about  1525  but  records  per- 
taining to  the  latter  are  much  more  complete,  as  is  usually 
the  case  with  ecclesiastic  structures.  It  was  built  for  the 
Dominicans  by  the  architect  Juan  de  Alava,  that  is,  John 
of  Vitoria  in  the  province  of  Alava,  who  had  worked  with  the 
Ontahons  on  Salamanca's  Gothic  Cathedral  and  was  next 
engaged  on  the  Plateresque  facade  of  Plasencia's.  St.  Ste- 
phen's, although  nominally  finished  in  1610,  was  still  building 
in  the  late  seventeenth  century  so  that  successive  architects 
may  have  altered  Alava's  plans;  yet  the  facade  (Plate  XXXI), 
even  granted  that  the  figure  of  the  martyr  and  other  bits  were 
carved  long  after,  appears  to  be  one  conception.  It  is  an 
ambitious  piece  of  work  embodying  a  vast  amount  of  stone 
carving,  all  excellent  and  varied  in  character.  The  canopies 
over  the  saints  on  each  side  of  the  portal  have  more  the  quality 
of  beaten  metal  than  of  the  less  obedient  stone  as  may  be  seen 
in  Fig.  49;  while  the  ornament  on  the  tall  pilasters  each  side  of 
the  central  motif  is  bold  and  free.  Unfortunately  this  whole 
feature  is  overpowering  in  scale  and  crushes  the  beauty  of 
the  detail.  There  is  a  peculiar  use  of  the  pendant  in  the  coflFered 
arch  which  gives  the  efi^ect  of  a  Moorish  artesonado;  but  this 
and  other  details  admirable  in  themselves  contribute  to  the 
restlessness  of  the  ensemble. 

As  to  the  Colegio  del  Arzobispo  much  dispute  reigns  con- 
cerning its  unknown  architect.     Llaguno  ascribes  the  entire 


PLATE  XXXI 


WEST  FRONT  OF  SAN  ESTEBAN,  SALAMANCA. 
Juan  de  Alava,  Architect,  i $24-1610. 


159 


SALAMANCA 


161 


building,  Gothic  chapel  and  all,  to  Alonso  de  Covarrubias; 
others  credit  him  with  only  the  facade,  and  this  happens  to 
be  devoid  of  all  interest.  A  modern  and  painstaking  investi- 
gator, Don  Manuel  Gomez  Moreno,  asserts  that  we  can  gather 
enough  from  the  testament  of 


Archbishop  Fonseca  to  confirm 
that  the  Granada  style  which 
we  see  in  Fonseca's  colleges  in 
both  Salamanca  and  Santiago 
is  due  to  Diego  de  Siloe.  The 
authors  have  not  examined  the 
will  in  question  but  even  one 
who  holds  documentary  evi- 
dence in  positive  awe  would  be 
hard  put  to  find  any  trace  of 
Siloe  or  his  school  in  the  Irland- 
eses.  The  scheme  of  the  build- 
ing is  the  traditional  Spanish 
that  had  been  going  on  un- 
varied for  centuries;  and  the 
detail,  the  chief  thing  by  which 
Spanish  architects  are  recog- 
nized, is  strikingly  Castilian. 
That  is,  the  sculpture  is  known 
to  be  at  least  in  part  by  Ber- 
ruguete,  and  is  therefore  very 
distinct  from  the  Granadine 
school.  Returning  to  Covar- 
rubias it  must  be  remembered  pic.  49— Detail  from  the  Portal  of 
that,  owing  to  his   prominent  San  Est^ban,  Salamanca. 

position  both  in  Toledo  Cathe-  Juan deAlava,  Architect,  1524-1610. 
dral  and  as  master  of  the  royal 

works,  he  may  have  been  called  on  to  furnish  many  more  plans 
than  he  himself  executed.  These  would  then  be  passed  over  to 
contractors,  who  were  often  architects  and  who  secured  the 
best  local  talent  to  interpret  them.  Hence,  if  he  did  design 
the  Fonseca  College,  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  from  the 
records  that  one  Pedro  Ibarra,  who  had  studied  in  Italy,  built 


162     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

the  stately  patio  illustrated  in  Plate  XXXII.  Some  say  that 
he  worked  from  his  own  plans,  others,  that  they  were  drawn 
by  Rodrigo  Gil  de  Ontaiion,  and  still  others  give  the  credit 
to  Covarrubias.     The  candelabra  motifs  crowning  the  second 


Fig.  50 — Upper  Cloister  of  the  Colegio  de  los  Irlandeses,  Salamanca. 
Attributed  to  Pedro  Ibarra. 


Story  piers  certainly  resemble  those  above  the  balustrade  on 
Ontanon's  university  facade  at  Alcala,  while  of  Covarrubias's 
Alcala  patio  there  is  no  reminder  save  the  inimitable  carving 
by  Berruguete.  Had  the  Alcala  staircase  been  repeated  here 
it  would  have  gone  far  to  settle  the  question ;  but  instead  there 
are  two,  one  on  each  side,  well  placed,  but  with  their  treat- 
ment utterly  lacking  in  sentiment.     They  have  every  appear- 


PLATE  XXXII 


PATIO  OF  THE  COLEGIO  DE  LOS  IRLANDESES,  SALAMANCA. 
Attributed  to  Pedro  Ibarra. 

IC'J 


SALAMANCA 


165 


ance  of  the  seventeenth  century.  That  the  building  of  the 
patio  and  stairway  suffered  many  interruptions  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  We  know  that  it  was  begun  about  1530  and  that 
Ibarra  did  not  appear  upon  the  scene  until  after  1550,  when 


Fig.  51 — Patio  of  the  Convento  de  las  Duenas,  Salamanca. 


he  had  completed  a  large  chapel  in  the  church  of  the  Military 
Order  of  Alcantara  in  the  border  town  of  that  name.  Of  the 
two  stories  that  compose  the  Fonseca  patio  the  lower  and 
more  formal  exhibits  a  rare  proficiency  in  the  application  of 
the  classic  orders  and  refutes  at  first  glance  Llaguno's  state- 
ment that  it  is  the  product  of  a  sculptor  rather  than  an  archi- 
tect. The  upper  story  (Fig.  50)  is  a  freer  interpretation  of 
the  style  and  therefore  more  Spanish.  Getting  down  to 
essentials  and  discarding  rumors,  the  Irlandeses,  with  the 
exception  of  the  patio,  might  have  been  built  by  any  good 
Salamantine  builder;  and  the  patio  was  probably  designed 
by  Covarrubias,  carried  out  by  Ibarra,  and  superintended 
more  or  less  by  Ontafion  who  came  on  visits  to  the  cathedral 


166     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

where  he  was  assisting  his  father.  In  these  circumstances 
different  hands  are  naturally  discernible  but  the  Spanish  char- 
acter of  the  work  is  so  paramount  that  a  certain  homogeneity 
is  the  result.     It  is  something  to  be  thankful  for  that,  although 


Fig.  52 — Patio  of  the  Castillo  de  Villanueva  de  Caneda  near  Salamanca. 

the  structure  stood  directly  in  the  line  of  fire  between  English 
and  French  batteries  in  1812,  only  the  graceful  pinnacles  of  the 
patio  suffered. 

To  identify  the  sculptor  Berruguete  is  a  comparatively 
easy  and  always  a  grateful  task.  The  capitals  and  medallion 
portraits  here  are  too  beautiful  to  be  by  less  expert  hands. 
Salamanca  is  a  veritable  museum  of  the  master's  architectural 
ornament.     This  served  apparently  as  model  for  a  group  of 


SALAMANCA  167 

local  sculptors  who  caught  much  of  his  passion  for  heads,  and 
his  distribution  of  decorative  elements,  but  not  his  extraordi- 
nary skill  of  execution.  If  all  the  expressive  and  well  modeled 
heads  in  the  city — in  the  patios  of  the  Irlandeses  and  the  con- 
vent of  Las  Duenas  (Fig.  51),  the  facades  of  the  schools  and 
of  many  private  houses,  the  portal  of  the  Espiritu  Santo — 
if  all  these  examples  of  Berruguete  and  his  school  were  photo- 
graphed they  would  make  a  marvelous  gallery  of  sixteenth 
century  Spanish  portraits  invaluable  for  the  study  of  the  race 
as  well  as  for  the  study  of  their  art.  Apropos  of  what  the 
sculptor  did  for  the  Spanish  palace  M.  Marcel  Dieulafoy  says 
the  following  in  his  Statuaire  Polychrome  en  Espagne:  '*And 
finally  there  is  a  lost  domain  of  art  in  which  Spain  showed 
herself  a  sovereign  mistress.  I  refer  to  her  civil  architecture. 
I  shall  assemble  some  day  the  houses  and  palaces  whose  stones 
the  ornamentalists  have  embroidered  with  a  distinction,  a 
delicacy,  and  a  technical  skill  never  surpassed;  but  at  present 
I  will  merely  cite  as  perfect  models  for  sculptors  the  decorative 
carving  spread  over  the  facades  and  interiors  of  aristocratic 
dwellings." 


CHAPTER  VI 
ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA 

AVILA  AND  THE  TOMB  BY  DOIMENICO  FANCELLI — FANCELLl's  DISCIPLE 
VASCO  DE  I,A  ZARZA  AND  HIS  MONUMENTS  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL — ZARZA's 
EXTRAORDINARY  FACILITY  IN  THE  SMALL  MARBLE  CUSTODIA THE  MONU- 
MENT IN  THE  SACRISTY  BY  BERRUGUETE  OR  A  PUPIL — GRANITE  PALACES 
OF  AVILA — SEGOVIA  AND  ITS  PALACES — SGRAFFITO  TREATMENT — VAL- 
LADOLID  AND  ITS  SCARCITY  OF  RENAISSANCE — THE  COLEGIO  DE  SAN 
GREGORIO — THE  PROVINCIAL  MUSEUM  IN  THE  COLEGIO  DE  LA  SANTA 
CRUZ  AND  THE  REMARKABLE  SCULPTURE  IT  HOLDS — SHORT  HISTORY  OF 
WOODEN  POLYCHROME  SCULPTURE  IN  SPAIN — THE  PROCESS  OF  ESTOFADO — 
ALONSO   DE   BERRUGUETE,   TRAINED   IN  ITALY,    RENOUNCING  MARBLE  AND 

RETURNING  TO  WOOD  AND  COLOR — HIS   STALLS   IN  TOLEDO   CATHEDRAL 

THE  RETABLO  FOR  SAN  BENITO — HIS  PUPILS  AND  FOLLOWERS — ESTREMA- 
DURA AND  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  PLASENCIA — LOCAL  TYPE  OF  HOUSE  BUILT 
FOR  THE  CONQUISTADORES  IN  ZAFRA,  TRUJILLO;  AND  CACERES — LEON 
AND  THE  WORK  OF  JUAN  DE  BADAJOZ — THE  FACADE  OF  SAN  MARCOS — 
THE  GUZMAN  PALACE — THE  CLOISTER  OF  THE  MONASTERY  OF  SAN  ZOIL  IN 
THE  TOWN  OF  CARRION  DE  LOS  CONDES — BITS  OF  RENAISSANCE  IN  WIDELY 
SCATTERED  TOWNS  OF  OLD  AND  NEW  CASTILE 


168 


CHAPTER  VI 

ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA 

THE  walled  town  of  Avila  is  of  a  complete  and  undis- 
turbed medievalism  that  is  not  surpassed  even  in 
medieval  Spain;  nevertheless  Renaissance  penetrated 
and  endowed  it  with  a  rare  collection  of  sculptural  monuments. 
In  architecture  the  movement  found  no  great  expression  for 
Avila  had  ceased  to  be  prosperous  in  the  sixteenth  century 
and  only  the  church  was  in  a  position  to  patronize  the  new 
style.  Here  it  was  that  the  gifted  Domenico  Fancelli  left 
his  masterpiece — the  tomb  of  Prince  John  (Plate  XXXIII) 
in  the  Dominican  convent-church  of  Santo  Tomas.  The 
advent  of  this,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  tombs  in  Europe, 
left  a  profound  influence  on  the  little  town;  Avila  became  a 
center  of  Castilian  sculpture.  Fancelli's  chief  follower  was 
Vasco  de  la  Zarza  who  kept  a  group  of  sculptors  busy  in  the 
cathedral  for  many  years.  The  Renaissance  work  there  con- 
sists of  the  trascoro,  the  altars  in  the  transept,  and  the  very 
remarkable  monument  in  the  ambulatory  to  Bishop  Alfonso 
de  Madrigal,  El  Tostado.  This  last  was  long  attributed 
to  the  better  known  Italian  and  by  some  to  Inocencio 
Berruguete,  but  the  indefatigable  Don  Manuel  Gomez  Moreno 
has  clarified  the  authorship  and  has,  besides,  discovered 
Zarza's  signature  in  the  arabesques  on  the  splendid  tomb  of 
Bishop  Alonso  Carrillo  de  Albornoz  in  Toledo  Cathedral. 

The  Italian  who  brought  the  Renaissance  to  Avila  was 
recorded  by  Cean  Bermudez  as  Micer  Domenico  Alejandro 
Florentin,  his  family  name  Fancelli  not  being  known  until 
the  publication  in  1871  of  data  collected  in  Carrara  by  Canon 
Pietro  Andrei   "On   Domenico   Fancelli  the   Florentine   and 

169 


170     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Bartolommeo  Ordognes  the  Spaniard/*^  Domenico  received 
the  commission  from  Don  Juan  Velasquez  Davila  who  had 
promised  the  dying  queen  that  her  only  son,  buried  some  years 
before  in  Avila,  should  have  a  worthy  monument.     Presuma- 


FiG.  53 — Panel  from  the  Trascoro,  Cathedral  of  Avila. 

bly  Davila  undertook  this  at  his  own  cost.  The  work  was 
placed  in  15 12  and  met  with  such  approval  that  it  secured 
another  royal  order,  the  monument  for  the  prince's  parents 
which  was  placed  in  Granada,  in  15 17.  The  next  year 
Fancelli  died  immediately  after  submitting  designs  to  the 
executors  of  Cardinal  Cisneros,  as  mentioned  in  Chapter  11. 
At  this  early  period  the  Spanish  preference  was  still  for 

'  "Sopra  Domenico  Fancelli  Fiorentino  e  Bartolommeo  Ordognes  Spagnuolo  e  sopra 
altri  artisti  loro  contemporanei  che  nel  principio  del  secolo  decimosesto  cultivarono  e 
propagarono  in  Spagna  le  arti  belle  italiane.  Memorie  estratte  da  documenti  inediti 
per  oura  del  canonico  Pietro  Andrei,  Massa,  1871." 


y, 
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A. 


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o    . 

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171 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  173 

free-standing  as  opposed  to  wall  tombs,  and  Fancelli's  were 
of  that  type.  All  three  are  discernible  as  the  conception  of 
one  man,  but  in  the  first,  the  Avila,  he  attained  a  sublimity 
which  he  just  missed  in  the  second  and  third.  The  figure  of 
the  young  prince,  in  no  way  a  portrait,  is  at  the  same  time  a 
sensitive  interpretation  of  both  youth  and  death.  It  lies  on 
a  spacious  sarcophagus  so  literally  Plateresque  that  it  is  more 
like  orfevrerie  than  chiseled  stone.  Its  flat  and  decorative 
sculpture  is  Italian  rather  than  Spanish,  and  yet  unlike  typical 
Italian  in  that  it  is  not  primarily  architectonic.  Whatever 
mouldings  it  does  employ,  however,  are  very  beautiful  both 
in  profile  and  decoration.  (It  may  be  said  at  once  that  only 
one  Spanish  sculptor,  Fancelli's  disciple  Zarza,  ever  realized 
to  the  same  extent  what  a  valuable  accessory  a  finely  moulded 
band  could  be.)  The  ensemble  is  the  same  as  at  Granada  and 
Alcala — sarcophagus  with  a  series  of  scriptural  figures  in  flat 
niches  on  each  side  and  accentuated  at  the  corners  by  grifiins 
or  figures.  In  one  end  of  the  Avila  example  is  a  medallion 
relief  of  San  Domingo  and  in  the  opposite  end  a  little  inscrip- 
tion tablet,  this  incomparably  Italian  in  form  and  lettering. 
In  the  same  church  is  another  tomb  sometimes  ascribed  to 
Domenico  though  little  about  it  bears  out  such  attribution. 
Partly  Gothic  it  is  inferior  in  every  way  yet  interesting  as  a 
precursor.  It  is  dated  1504  and  was  erected  to  the  guardians 
of  the  prince,  Juan  Davila  and  Juana  de  Velasquez  his  wife, 
parents  of  the  nobleman  who  undertook  to  provide  the  youth's 
resting  place  with  a  suitable  memorial. 

Plate  XXXIV  shows  the  bishop's  tomb  by  Zarza  which 
is  at  the  back  of  the  capilla  mayor  in  the  cathedral.  Of  rich 
marble  beautifully  worked  it  seems  to  suffer  a  little  in  the 
embrace  of  the  coarse  bald  granite  of  the  church  interior. 
The  composition  is  somewhat  erratic  but  the  defects  are  more 
than  offset  by  the  exquisite  detail,  of  conventional  Italian  and 
exuberant  Spanish  curiously  combined.  The  monument  is 
divided  into  three  stages — base  or  sarcophagus  proper  with 
paneled  niches,  a  second  stage  with  the  seated  figure  of  the 
bishop,  and  an  upper  portion  quite  separate  from  the  lower  ones 
as  to  arrangement,  and  made  up  of  a  relief  of  the  Infant  Christ. 


174     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  choicest  part  is  the  central  with  the  learned  bishop's 
effigy,  probably  one  of  the  finest  bits  executed  in  the  Italian 
style  by  any  Spanish  artist.  Behind  the  seated  figure  and 
cleverly  inserted  so  as  to  form  part  of  the  arch  is  a  beautiful 


Fig.  54 — Altar  of  Santa  Catalina  in  Avila  Cathedral. 
Attributed  to  Zarza. 


circular  bas-relief.  On  the  pedestal  it  is  recorded  that  the 
bones  of  El  Tostado  ("the  Tanned"  for  such  was  his  curious 
.appellation)  were  brought  here  on  the  loth  of  February,  1521; 
but  the  monument  must  have  been  completed  or  nearly  so 
in  15 18,  for  it  is  on  record  that  in  that  year  Domenico  Fancelli 


PLATE  XXXIV 


MONUMENT  TO  BISHOP  ALFONSO  DE  MADRIGAL,  EL  TOSTADO. 
AVILA  CATHEDRAL. 

Vasco  de  la  Zarza,  Sculptor,  ca.  15 17. 


17.5 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  177 

was  called  upon  by  the  cathedral  chapter  to  appraise  it. 
Next  in  artistic  value  is  the  trascoro  (Fig.  53),  a  prodigious 
work  cut  in  stone  and  depicting  scenes  from  the  life  of  Christ. 
It  too  is  ascribed  to  Zarza  but  is  totally  unlike  the  foregoing 


Fig.  52 — Altar  in  the  Sacristy  of  Avila  Cathedral. 
Attributed  to  Berruguete. 

work.  While  the  frame  is  Renaissance  the  sculptural  panels 
have  more  of  a  Gothic  decorativeness.  Many  hands  were 
kept  busy  on  this  trascoro,  Juan  Rodriguez,  Zarza's  best 
known  follower,  having  charge  of  it  after  the  master's  death 
about  1536.  The  two  fine  altars  in  the  transept,  one  dedicated 
to  San  Segundo  and  the  other  to  Santa  Catalina,  are  a  much 


178     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

more  personal  expression  of  Zarza's  hand,  especially  the  former 
which  on  examination  proves  to  be  of  greater  refinement  than 
the  more  breezy  execution  of  the  latter  (Fig.  54).  Though 
both  might  be  criticised  as  over  ornate  they  have  much  charm- 
ing detail.  In  the  altar  of  San  Segundo  the  sculptural  panels 
have  a  decidedly  primitive  quality  along  with  that  same  sensi- 
tiveness for  mouldings  and  little  architectural  details  that  is 
observed  in  the  Tostado  monument.  Particularly  fine  is  the 
cyma  forming  the  base  to  the  pedestal,  ornamented  with  a 
delicate  dolphin  pattern  strange,  somehow,  in  this  inland 
mountain  town.  Zarza  is  seen  in  quite  another  mood  in  some 
exquisite  miniature  carving  in  the  shape  of  a  marble  custodia 
at  the  base  of  the  magnificent  painted  retablo — a  piece  as 
delicate  and  mellow  as  an  old  ivory  casket.  Sculpture  of  an 
entirely  different  school  from  that  of  Fancelli  and  Zarza  is 
the  very  Spanish  altar  of  alabaster  in  the  sacristy  (Fig.  55). 
In  it  architecture  is  merely  a  sculptor's  background,  as  the 
elliptical  arch  over  the  figure  of  Christ  plainly  proves.  Mould- 
ings are  nowhere  featured  or  ornamented,  and  colonnettes 
are  but  decorative  adjuncts;  but  the  figures  are  of  extraordinary 
realism  and  of  that  tenseness  truly  Spanish.  Berruguete  is 
given  (locally)  as  the  author;  at  least  it  is  of  his  school. 

The  few  sixteenth-century  palaces  in  Avila  are  of  granite 
and  belong  to  the  same  medieval  class  as  those  to  presently 
be  described  in  Estremadura.  Renaissance  is  found  mostly 
in  fragmentary  motifs  such  as  doorways  and  windows,  for 
which  the  friable  granite  of  the  region  was  worked  in  a  very 
peculiar  and  local  style.  The  huge  monoliths  thus  fashioned 
into  jambs  and  lintels  are  like  coarse  fragments  of  decadent 
Roman  (Fig.  56).  In  patios  this  ornamentation  becomes 
more  general  and  is  freely  employed  on  lintels,  parapets,  and 
brackets,  but  the  forms  carved  are  most  rudimentary  and  are 
indefinitely  repeated,  as,  for  instance,  the  stone  balls  in  the  clois- 
ter arches  of  the  Convento  de  Santo  Tomas.  The  best  known 
of  Avila's  palaces  is  the  Casa  Polentinos,  now  a  military  acad- 
emy. Here  something  more  ambitious  was  attempted  but 
the  palace  was  left  unfinished  for  centuries  and  the  recent 
additions  and  restorations  for  the  purpose  of  adapting  it  to 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  179 

its  present  use  give  no  clue  as  to  what  it  would  have  been  as  a 
palace.  The  only  notable  exterior  feature  of  the  original 
building  is  the  imposing  doorway  with  armorial  panels  at  the 
sides  and  a  curious  machicolated  motif  above. 


Fig.  56 — Typical  Granite  Doorway,  Avila. 

Segovia,  the  other  important  mountain  town  of  the  region, 
is  primarily  Romanesque.  It  has  no  notable  Renaissance 
monuments  in  its  cathedral  and  its  few  sixteenth-century 
houses  are  of  the  Avila  type.  One  innovation,  however,  is 
presented  in  the  Casa  de  los  Picos  (facets),  a  caprice  from  Lom- 
bardy  of  which  this  is  a  solitary  example.  Of  the  local  type 
of  house,  that  of  the  Marques  del  Arco  has  an  interesting  patio 
of  granite  where  the  diagonal  arch  of  the  corners,  essentially 
a  Spanish  feature,  is  very  well  applied  (Fig.  57).  Segovia 
is  the  center  for  a  sort  of  sgraffito  treatment  rare  in  Spain. 


180     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  stucco  fronts  are  In  tan  and  white,  the  latter  being  the 
under  coat  which  shows  when  the  tan  is  scraped  away.  De- 
signs are  usually  simple  geometric  arrangements  but  a  few 
Renaissance  rinceaux  and  swags  are  seen.     Most  of  the  ex- 


FiG.  57 — Patio  of  the  Palacio  del  Marques  del  Arco,  Segovia-. 


amples  are  fairly  modern  but   it  is  said  that  the  process  was 
used  in  the  region  in  the  late  sixteenth  century. 

Valladolid,  the  favorite  residence  of  the  sovereigns  of 
Castile  and  capital  for  awhile  of  the  great  Spanish  Empire, 
has  surprisingly  little  of  sixteenth-century  architecture  to 
offer,  nearly  all  it  had  having  disappeared  in  the  city's  recent 
zeal  for  modernizing.     Its  most  interesting  monuments,  and 


ISOLATED  WORK  IX  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADLTIA  181 

these  considerably  restored,  are  the  Colegio  de  San  Gregorio 
and  the  Colegio  de  la  Santa  Cruz,  both  of  the  late  fifteenth 
century.  How  the  latter  came  to  acquire  its  posterior  Re- 
naissance applications  has  been  mentioned  in  Chapter  I. 
As  to  the  San  Gregorio,  its  exterior,  like  those  of  several  con- 
temporaries in  the  city,  is  outside  the  realm  of  sane  architec- 
ture but  its  main  patio  (Plate  XXXV),  while  also  fantastically 
rich,  yet  has  a  definite  scheme.  The  architect  is  said  by  some 
to  be  Macias  Carpintero  and  by  others,  Felipe  Vigarni.  Cer- 
tain mouldings  and  minor  details  anticipate  the  new  movement 
but  these  are  submerged  in  a  preponderance  of  decadent 
Flemish  Gothic,  and  the  whole  shows  a  tinge  of  Moorish. 
Structurally  the  composition  of  the  patio  is  simple  enough — 
a  double-storied  arcade  with  twisted  columns  supporting 
flat  arches  below,  and  patterned  columns  supporting  semi- 
circular arches  above.  This  diagonal  patterning  was  very 
typical  of  the  Flemish  in  Spain  and  was  preserved  by  Egas  in 
his  newel  post  at  Toledo.  Excessive  richness  occurs  only  in  the 
upper  story  where  a  stone  screen  is  inserted  in  the  arches  to 
shade  the  claustral  walk — apparently  an  adaptation  of  the 
wooden  Moorish  screen.  Beyond  these  generalities,  which 
closely  follow  the  original  structure,  there  is  nothing  to  exam- 
ine, for  hardly  any  of  the  old  work  survived  the  restoration. 
This  building,  we  have  previously  said,  is  in  a  class  with 
the  Infantado  Palace  at  Guadalajara  by  Juan  Guas  (Johan 
Waas)  the  Fleming  who  built  San  Juan  de  los  Reyes  in  Toledo 
for  Queen  Isabella.  In  each  case  the  northern  architect 
while  eager  to  add  new  elements  to  his  repertory  was  unwilling 
to  eliminate  any  of  the  old.  Had  Egas  been  in  the  same  mood 
when  he  came  in  contact  with  Italian  workmen  and  models 
at  Toledo,  Spanish  Plateresque  would  have  been  more  Flemish 
than  Italian.  In  a  secondary  patio  of  the  Colegio  de  San 
Gregorio  is  a  little  window  of  mixed  Moorish  and  Plateresque 
which  offers  a  favorable  comparison  with  the  more  vulgar 
Flemish  and  Plateresque  of  the  principal  patio.  Between 
Valladolid's  late  fifteenth-century  structures  and  Herrera's 
cold  classic  cathedral  commenced  in  1585  (see  page  428)  there 
is  practically  no  monument  of  importance;  but  the  city  con- 


182     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 


tains  a  little  museum,  installed  in  the  Colegio  de  Santa  Cruz, 
with  a  rare  collection  of  Castilian  sculpture.     Although  outside 

the  scope  of  a  strictly  architectural 
study,  this  collection  is  too  interesting 
to  be  passed  without  a  word. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  at  the 
dawn  of  the  Renaissance,  plastic  art  in 
Spain  had  reached  a  flourishing  stage 
and  was  practiced  by  many  foreigners 
as  well  as  natives.  As  the  century 
I  progressed  it  developed  into  some- 
1  thing  distinctly  national.  The  figure 
went  on  steadily  improving,  not  in 
the  sense  that  it  approached  more  and 
more  to  the  classic  beauty  of  the 
Italian,  but  precisely  because  it 
diverged  from  that  and  became  in- 
tensely racy.  It  was  curious,  drama- 
tic, yet  always  supremely  dignified. 
Even  in  purely  architectural  carving 
this  same  independence  and  personal- 
ity also  prevailed  and  while  grace  was 
not  always  attained  the  forms  were 
well  balanced.  The  more  sculpture 
grew  to  be  individual  in  expression, 
the  greater  became  the  passion  for 
applying  it.  Mural  painting  mean- 
while found  no  favor  in  the  land. 
The  churches  alone  must  have  kept 
an  army  of  figure  sculptors  busy, 
and  secular  work  also  employed  them 
lavishly.  All  materials  used  in  build- 
ing had  to  submit  to  the  Spaniard's  craving  for  form  — 
terra  cotta,  coarse  granite,  fine  marble  and  alabaster,  wood, 
slate,  and  even  iron  were  carved.  But  as  time  went  on 
one  material  —  that  best  adapted  to  realistic  portraiture — 
came  to  hold  the  field  of  figure  sculpture  for  itself;  not 
because   of  the  greater  facility  with  which  wood    could    be 


Fig.  58— Wooden  Pul- 
pit in  the  Colegiata  of 
Aranda  del  EHiero. 


> 

X! 
X 

w 
< 


o 

Q 

< 

< 
> 


Pi 
o 
o 

a 

< 


183 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  185 

carved,  but  because  it  offered  the  best  ground  for  the 
appHcation  of  color,  and  without  color  sculpture  could  not 
be  Spanish.  Spain,  except  for  the  brief  sway  of  Fancelli 
and  Ordonez,  had  remained  faithful  to  polychrome  and  con- 


FiG.  59 — Pulpit  with  Alternating  Mudejar  and  Renaissance 
Panels,  Amusco,  near  Palencia. 

tinued  to  do  so  even  after  sculpture  was  dead  in  the  rest  of 
Europe;  Zalzillo  of  Murcia,  one  of  the  most  renowned  poly- 
chromists,  lived  in  the  eighteenth  century.  To  the  devout 
Spanish  soul  monochrome  saints  could  never  speak  as  elo- 
quently as  those  painted  true  to  life;  nor  was  it  alone  a  craving 
for  realism  that  demanded  color;  centuries  of  contact  with 
Mussulman  art  had  much  to  do  with  the  painted  and  gilded 
retablos  and  altars,  the  bright-hued  azulejos,  the  gorgeous 
damasks  with  their  rich  galloon  and  fringe,  which  were  all 
inseparable  from  Spanish  worship.  The  process  of  coloring 
wooden  statuary  was  called  estofado^  that  is,  the  simulating 
of  stuffs.     It  consisted  of  a  foundation  of  heavy  gold  to  be 


186     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

painted  upon,  and  the  paint  then  scratched  through  with  fine 
lines  until  enough  gold  was  exposed  to  impart  the  richness  of 
the  fabric  (generally  brocade)  imitated.  Flesh,  and  especially 
suffering  or  dead  flesh,  was  counterfeited  with  appalling  realism. 
The  first  Italian-trained  sculptor  to  turn  back  to  the 
national  tradition  was  Alonso  Berruguete  whom  we  have  al- 
ready seen  as  an  eminent  architectural  ornamentalist  in 
Alcala,  Toledo,  and  Salamanca.  His  marvelous  wood  statu- 
ary may  be  studied,  along  with  that  of  several  worthy  disciples, 
in  the  Valladolid  museum.  Berruguete  was  the  son  of  Pedro 
de  Berruguete,  one  of  the  best  known  Castilian  painters. 
After  his  father's  death  in  1504  he  left  his  native  Paredes  de 
Nava,  near  Valladolid,  and  went  to  Italy.  There  he  studied 
painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture.  In  Rome  he  knew  both 
Michelangelo  and  Bramante.  The  latter  commissioned  him 
to  make  a  copy  of  the  Laocoon,  and  the  remembrance  of  that 
expressive  group  was  always  mixed  up  with  the  Titans  of 
Michelangelo  in  his  work.  In  1520,  the  year  of  Ordonez's 
death,  he  returned  to  Spain  and  took  that  master's  place  as 
the  foremost  of  Spanish  sculptors;  not,  however,  as  a  maker  of 
marble  monuments  inspired  by  Italian  models  (although  he 
did  execute  several  such)  but  as  a  wood  carver  who  was  to 
return  to  medieval  polychrome.  Yet  in  his  story-telling, 
faithfully  colored  groups  he  nevertheless  retained  something 
of  the  vigorous  classic  he  had  learned  to  execute  under  the 
great  Italian.  Always  noble  and  distinguished,  his  figures 
became  more  and  more  ascetic  until  finally  his  lean  nervous 
saints  seem  to  foretell  the  enraptured  visions  of  El  Greco. 
Those  preserved  in  Valladolid  (Plate  XXXVI)  are  fragments 
from  the  colossal  retablo  of  the  Monasterio  de  San  Benito  el 
Real,  which  was  still  intact  when  Don  Isidor  Bosarte  made  his 
well  reported  Fiage  Artistico.  In  the  magnificent  Toledo 
stalls  carved  by  Berruguete  and  illustrated  in  Chapter  II 
(Fig.  16)  a  large  portion  of  the  work  was  necessarily  entrusted 
to  pupils,  but  in  the  earlier  retablo  for  San  Benito  we  know 
from  the  terms  of  the  contract,  dated  1526,  that  at  least  all 
the  faces  and  hands  were  to  be  carved  and  painted  by  the 
master  himself.     Seeing  that  all  these  figures  are  much  less 


> 
X 

X 

w 

< 


187 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA   189 

draped  than  those  in  contemporary  retablos  we  may  consider 
all  except  the  garments  to  be  his  work.  Not  only  the  intense 
masculinity  of  his  sculpture  but  also  the  brilliance  and  skill 
with  which  it  was  painted  must  have  been  a  revelation  to 
other  workers;  we  soon  find  not  only  Castilians  but  French- 
men who  were  working  in  the  province,  falling  into  line. 
Nearly  all  the  architectural  framing  of  the  San  Benito  retablo 
is  missing,  but  its  various  stages  were  upheld,  according  to 
Bosarte's  description,  by  Lombard  baluster  colonnettes  and 
not  by  the  more  formal  classic  order.  (According  to  M.  Emile 
Bertaux,  ^  this  style  of  colonnette,  so  recurrent  in  Plateresque, 
first  appeared  in  a  retablo — that  begun  in  1505  for  Palencia 
Cathedral  by  Felipe  de  Vigarni — earlier,  it  will  be  seen,  than 
its  use  in  the  Mendoza  palace  at  Lacalahorra.)  The  great 
Berruguete  died  injToledo  while  working  on  the  marble  tomb 
of  Cardinal  Juan  de  Tavera  which  he  began  in  1554,  when 
over  seventy  years  of  age.  His  influence  had  been  profound 
and  far-reaching  in  Castile;  and  if  it  be  advanced  that  the 
exaggerated  movements  of  his  figures  became  a  mannerism 
with  his  followers  Andres  de  Najera,  Esteban  Jordan,  Ino- 
cencio  Berruguete  and  others,  it  must  be  remembered  that, 
even  without  his  example,  the  Castilian  turned  naturally  to 
the  deepest  human  emotions  as  the  subject  of  his  art.  About 
the  end  of  the  century  which  elapsed  from  the  beginning  of 
Berruguete's  career  in  Castile  to  the  end  of  Gregorio  Fer- 
nandez's, an  Andalusian  school  of  polychromists  arose  quite 
independently  of  the  Castilian,  yet  along  the  same  general 
lines.  To  be  sure  the  southerners  selected  by  preference  the 
happier  incidents  of  the  Virgin's  or  saints'  lives,  but  where 
suffering  had  to  be  depicted,  none  exceeded  them  (Montafies, 
for  instance)  in  poignancy.  We  may  assume  then  that  these 
strongly  marked  tendencies  in  sculpture  expressed  a  truly 
Spanish  attitude  of  mind;  in  Berruguete's  case  they  were  un- 
doubtedly crystallized  by  the  dignity  and  seriousness  of  Michel- 
angelo, but  not  inspired  by  him. 

We  have  already  seen  in  the  chapter  on  Salamanca,  that 

'  Histoire  de  I'Art,  par  Andre  Michel,  vol.  iv  (with  concluding  chapter  on  the  Re- 
naissance in  Spain  by  Emile  Bertaux). 


190    SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Juan  de  Alava  and  others  carried  the  new  style  to  Plasencia 
Cathedral  in  Estremadura.  This  province  of  Estremadura, 
extending  along  the  Portuguese  border,  is  the  most  exclusive 
and  backward  in  Spain.     It  has  no  great  architectural  monu- 


FiG.  60 — Portal  Adjoining  the  Bishop's  Palace,  Plasencia. 


ments,  its  one  notable  undertaking,  the  cathedral  just  referred 
to,  having  soon  come  to  a  standstill.  This  church  belongs  in 
reality  to  the  group  of  late  Gothic  Castilian  cathedrals.  Juan 
de  Alava,  Diego  de  Siloe,  Francisco  de  Colonia,  Rodrigo  Gil 
de  Ontafion,  and  Alonso  de  Covarrubias  are  all  in  part  respon- 
sible but  only  the  first  mentioned,  who  was  for  awhile  maestro 
mayor,  ever  dedicated  much  time  to  it.  Coro  and  transept 
reached  completion  but  the  church  still  awaits  a  nave.  While 
structurally  late  Gothic  its  principal  facade  is  in  richest 
Plateresque — that  is,  rich  in  quantity  but  with  neither  balance 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  191 

nor  definite  scheme.  Alava  displays  a  keener  knowledge  of 
the  style  in  the  church  of  San  Esteban  in  Salamanca.  As  for 
the  other  distinguished  architects  resurrected  by  those  who 
have  examined  Plasencia's  archives,  their  intervention  led  to 


Fig.  6i — Palacio  del  Duque  de  San  Carlos,  Trujillo. 

nothing  distinctive.  The  church  will  always  be  more  visited 
for  its  extraordinarily  impudent  Gothic  stalls  by  Rodrigo 
Aleman  (1520)  than  for  its  Plateresque  front. 

Far  more  pertinent  to  the  province  are  the  crude  granite 
palaces  built  by  the  returned  conquistadores.  Those  hardy 
men  who  went  out  to  subdue  the  new  savage  world  were 
almost  all  Estramenos,  and  they  invariably  brought  back 
their  Mexican  and  Peruvian  gold  and  formed  a  viayorazgo 
(entailed  estate)  in  their  native  town.  The  palaces  they  built 
are    semi-medieval,    romantic-looking,    and    not    without    a 


192    SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

certain  grandeur,  but  they  add  nothing  to  the  history  of 
Plateresque.  Even  where  they  acquired  columnar  patios 
and  vast  stairhalls,  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  style,  its 
beautiful  ornamentation,  is  lacking;  nor  was  the  simpler  art 


Fig.  62 — Sacristy,  Sigiienza  Cathedral. 
Carved  Vaulting  and  Wardrobes  Attributed  to  Xamete. 


of  colorful  surface  decoration  imported  from  Andalusia. 
Throughout  the  century  certain  old-time  traits  persisted — 
arched  entrances  with  huge  voussoirs,  sparsity  of  windows, 
and  strong  stone  balconies  which  were  merely  converted 
projecting  turrets.  The  one  innovation  is  a  curious  two- 
sided  window  best  described  as  a  bite  out  of  the  corner;  and 
even  this  may  be  a  peaceful  modification  of  the  defensive 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  193 

corner  turret  which  permitted  a  survey  in  two  directions. 
This  motif  was  very  popular  and  often  considerably  architec- 
turalized.  Obviously  its  weak  note  is  the  arched  top  breaking 
at  the  corner,  nevertheless  it  was  effectively  used  and  even 


Fig.  63 — Detail  of  Stairway  in  the  Palacio  de  los  Duefios,  Medina 

del  Campo. 

extended  to  neighboring  provinces.  Conquistador  palaces 
may  be  found  in  Plasencia,  Badajoz,  Zafra,  Caceres,  and 
Trujillo,  the  most  monumental  being  those  of  the  Pizarro 
family  in  the  last  mentioned  town;  one  of  these,  the  Palacio 
de  los  Duques  de  San  Carlos,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  61.  This 
town  of  Trujillo  is  an  altogether  picturesque  and  primitive 
spot  in  the  Sierra  de  Guadalupe,  far  from  any  railroad.  Pla- 
sencia contains,  besides  the  local  type,  the  small  house  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  139  by  Juan  de  Herrera,  and  Badajoz  Cathedral 
boasts  one  of  the  finest  memorial  brasses  that  ever  came  out 
of  Italy.  It  was  made  for  the  tomb  of  Lorenzo  de  Figlieroa, 
who  died  in  1506  as  Ambassador  to  Venice. 

Leon,  far  to  the  north  of  the  kingdom,  was  never  a  Re- 
naissance center  but  in  it  stands  the  masterpiece  of  one  of 
13 


194     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

the  most  distinctive  architects  of  the  Plateresque  period. 
This  is  the  Monastery  of  San  Marcos  by  Juan  de  Badajoz. 
The  same  architect  is  responsible  for  the  notable  cloister  of 
San  Zoil  in  Carrion  de  los  Condes,  some  forty  miles  or  more 


Fig.  64 — Patio  of  Later  Mendoza  Palace,  Guadalajara. 


to  the  southeast.  San  Marcos  was  projected  in  the  reign  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  but  was  not  actually  undertaken 
until  1 5 14;  between  that  date  and  1549  Juan  de  Badajoz 
erected  the  greater  part  of  the  facade.  After  his  death  the 
work  dragged  on  until  1715  when  it  terminated  in  the  central 
entrance  and  absurd  feature  over  it.     Thus  was  marred  one 


> 
X 
X 
X 

w 

H 

3 


195 


> 

X 
X 

w 

< 

Ah 


197 


ISOLATED  ^YORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA   190 


of  the  finest  Renaissance  facades  In  Spain.  The  architect's 
earnest  effort  to  express  what  Is  behind  his  exterior  has  re- 
sulted In  a  most  agreeable  asymmetric 
treatment.  As  has  been  remarked,  the 
Spanish  conception  of  a  facade  was  a 
formidable  wall  that  concealed  rather 
than  revealed  the  arrangement  behind; 
San  Marcos  is  therefore  a  departure. 
The  east  end  with  its  deeply  recessed 
entrance  expresses  the  church,  and  is 
as  much  Gothic  as  Renaissance;  the 
remainder,  or  monastery  proper,  is  en- 
tirely in  the  new  style.  Horizontally 
the  front  is  divided  into  equal  stories, 
the  lower  treated  with  pilasters,  the 
upper  with  engaged  colonnettes.  Par- 
ticularly effective  is  the  row  of  medal- 
lion busts  of  the  lower  story  (Plate 
XXXVII).  The  golden  limestone  of 
the  region  is  the  material  used  here, 
but  so  unrestrainedly  plastic  is  the 
character  of  the  ornamentation  that  it 
gives  one  the  Impression  of  terra  cotta. 
As  many  of  the  little  caprices  in  the 
detail  recur  in  the  Carrion  example  it 
is  reasonably  certain  that  the  architect 
himself  must  have  been  the  dominant 
sculptor.  For  Spanish  work  it  Is  un- 
usually low  in  relief  and  therefore  less 
realistic.  The  lower  story,  particu- 
larly the  fine  medallions,  has  been 
much  maltreated,  but  now  that  the 
edifice  has  been  declared  a  national 
monument  depredations  have  ceased. 
Of  the  interior,  only  the  church  and 
cloister  are  interesting  and  these  are  more  Gothic  than  Renais- 
sance. The  latter  is  in  the  style  of  the  San  Zoil  cloister  but 
inferior  to  It  in  detail,  which  comment  also  applies  to  the  same 


Fig.  65 — Pier  in  the 
Church  of  the  Convent  o 
de  la  Piedad,  Guadala- 
jara. 


200    SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

architect's  work  in  the  cathedral  cloisters.  An  entirely  different 
conception  of  Renaissance  is  seen  in  the  vast  palace  of  the  il- 
lustrious Guzman  family — a  perfunctory  product  relieved  by 
picturesque  gargoyles  and  corner  windows.     The  most  interest- 


FiG.  66 — Detail  from  the  Portal  of  the  Capilla  de  los  Caballeros, 
Cuenca  Cathedral. 

ing  feature  is  the  main  entrance  with  scrolls  overhead  support- 
ing standing  grotesques.  This  composition  recalls  the  Alcala 
University  but  the  work  here  is  only  mediocre.  The  palace 
was  built  in  1560  but  the  architect  is  thus  far  unknown. 

In  the  cloister  of  the  Benedictine  Convento  de  San  Zoil 
at  Carrion  de  los  Condes,  Juan  de  Badajoz's  enthusiasm  for 
plastic  forms  has  covered  the  entire  vaulting  of  the  four  walks 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA  201 

with  reliefs  of  biblical  personages,  emperors,  and  heroes.     Cer- 


^ 

j,^,^ 

r 

T^'  1 

Fig.  67— Sketch  of  a  House  in  Cuenca. 

tain  it  is  that  the  famous  order  was  no  longer  heeding  Saint 
Bernard  s  plea  for  sobriety.  The  profusion  of  pendants  and 
bosses  as  well  as  the  general  disposition  of  the  ribs  recall  Diego 


20?     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

de  Riafio's  vestibule  in  the  Seville  Ayuntamiento,  but  here 
at  San  Zoil  the  whole  scheme  is  infinitely  richer.  It  may  be 
said  to  be  typically  Spanish — a  sculpturesque  conception  of 
architecture,  restless,  but  a  marvel  of  execution.     The  finest 


Fig.  68 — Small  Iron  Reja  in  the  Cathedral  of  Cuenca. 

bay  is  that  over  the  northeast  corner  above  the  entrance  from 
the  church  (Plate  XXXVIII)  containing  efiigies  of  the  found- 
ers, the  Counts  of  Carrion,  and  their  children.  The  five 
pendants  terminate  in  portrait  reliefs,  the  center  quatrefoil 
is  decorated  with  blazons,  and  the  remaining  panels  have 
figures  in  low  relief.  In  the  southeast  corner  is  another  par- 
ticularly beautiful  bay  also  shown  in  Plate  XXXVIII,  and 
even  more  sculptural  in  character.  Various  saints  here  form 
the  decorative  theme;  in  fact,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
personage  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  who  is  not  represented 


PLATE  XXXIX 


CLOISTER  OF  THE  FORMER  HIERONYMITE  MONASTERY,  LUPIAXA. 


203 


PLATE  XL 


CARVED  WOODEN   DOORS  OF  THE  SACRISTY,  CUENCA  CATHEDRAL. 
By  Alonzo  de  Berruguete. 


14 


205 


ISOLATED  WORK  IN  CASTILE  AND  ESTREMADURA   207 

in  this  cloister.  In  addition  to  all  this  vigorous  sculpture  there 
are  some  exquisite  bits  of  miniature  carving  in  the  panels  of 
the  piers,  dancing  fawns  and  shy  nudes  of  the  greatest  delicacy, 
but  out  of  scale  (and  perhaps  out  of  place).     An  inscription 


Fig.  69 — Patio  of  the  Palacio  Espejo,  Ciudad  Rodrigo. 

in  the  northeast  corner  says  that  the  new  cloister  was  com- 
menced on  the  seventh  of  March,  1537,  and  finished  in  1604, 
after  the  master's  death.  The  ensemble  is  Gothic,  and  Juan 
de  Badajoz,  though  interested  principally  in  sculptural  orna- 
ment, preserved  all  the  thoroughness  of  good  Gothic  vaulting. 
The  rest  of  the  monastery  is  without  merit,  a  fine  Romanesque 
church  having  been  torn  down  to  accommodate  the  present 
ugly  seventeenth-century  one.      But  the  claustral  walk  and 


208     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

some  rare  examples  of  early  printing  in  the  convent  library 
make  the  tedious  journey  worth  while. 

In  many  other  small  towns  of  Old  and  New  Castile  there 
are  charming  isolated  bits  of  Renaissance,  sometimes  a  whole 
palace,  sometimes  a  church  portal,  sometimes  only  a  tomb  or 
a  pulpit;  but  complete  edifices,  Renaissance  through  and 
through  to  the  same  studied  extent  as  the  examples  of  Italy 
or  France,  cannot  be  found.  In  Bribiesca,  a  little  to  the  north 
of  Burgos,  there  is  a  renowned  retablo;  in  Sigiienza,  between 
Alcala  and  Zaragoza,  fine  Plateresque  portals  in  the  cloisters, 
and  several  chapels  and  rejas;  also  a  sacristy  (Fig.  62)  re- 
nowned for  its  barrel  vaulting  adorned  with  rosettes  and 
three  hundred  or  more  carved  heads.  In  Lupiana,  near 
Guadalajara,  is  a  very  beautiful  patio  to  the  former  monas- 
tery (now  the  country  home  of  a  Madrid  nobleman) ;  this  is 
in  the  style  of  Covarrubias's  patio  at  Alcala,  but  much  per- 
fected (Plate  XXXIX).  At  Cuenca,  in  the  cathedral,  is  the 
most  notable  assembly  of  rejas  of  the  period.  Several  of 
these  are  set  in  exquisitely  designed  portals  by  Xamete,  an 
architect  but  little  known,  and  whose  name  is  now  linked  with 
the  famous  vaulting  in  Sigiienza  just  mentioned.  In  Cuenca, 
too,  is  a  remarkable  pair  of  doors  carved  in  walnut  and  prob- 
ably by  Berruguete  (Plate  XL).  Indeed  it  is  precisely  in 
remote  spots  whither  it  was  called  by  patrician  or  prelate 
that  detached  bits  must  be  sought;  for  as  remarked  at  the 
beginning  of  this  book,  the  Renaissance  did  not  answer  to 
any  national  demand  in  Spain.  But  few  people  needed  it. 
What  the  rich  and  educated  wanted  most  was  sumptuous 
decoration,  rich  materials  and  stuffs;  the  type  of  structure  to 
which  these  were  accessory  was  very  secondary.  Only  in 
very  few  places,  and  these  where  the  personality  of  a  Fonseca 
or  other  art  patron  was  dominant,  did  the  architectural  move- 
ment take  deep  enough  root  to  change  the  medieval  aspect  of 
a  Castilian  town. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO 

Seville's  political  importanxe  after  the  discovery  of  Amer- 
ica— the  CASA  DE  CONTRATACION  or  board  of  trade — DIEGO  DE  RIANO 
ARCHITECT  OF  THE  CAS  AS  CAPITULARES  OR  CITY  HALL — RIANO  COM- 
PARED  WITH    DIEGO    DE     SILOE    WHO    WORKED    CONTEMPORANEOUSLY   IN 

GRANADA RIANo's    PROBABLE   PLAN   FOR   THE  CITY    HALL — EXTERIOR    OF 

THE  BUILDING — INTERIOR  AND  ARRANGEMENT  OF  RADIATING  FIGURES  IN 
CEILINGS — RIANO's  WORK  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  AS  MAESTRO  MAYOR — HIS 
EARLY  DEATH — MARTIN  GAINZA  AND  OTHERS  WHO  SUCCEEDED  AS  MAESTRO 
MAYOR  AND  THE  CHANGES  THEY  MADE  IN  RIANO's  PLANS — THE  SACRISTIA 
MAYOR — A  FEW  OF  THE  TREASURES  GUARDED  IN  THE  SACRISTY — RENAIS- 
SANCE   REJAS    IN    THE    CATHEDRAL    BY    SANCHO    ML^NOZ    OF    CUENCA    AND 

FRAY     FRANCISCO     OF     SALAMANCA THE     GIRALDA     OR     BEI,FRY    OF    THE 

CATHEDRAL — ITS  UPPER  PORTION  BY  FERNAN  RUIZ — LOCAL  CRITIC1S]\I 
OF  RUIZ'S  WORK 


210 


CHAPTER  VII 

SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO 

THE  only  Andalusian  cities  to  be  discussed  here  are 
Seville  and  Granada,  and  in  addition  a  few  small 
towns  near  them  to  which  their  influence  spread. 
The  scattered  monuments  in  the  rest  of  the  province  present 
no  features  not  covered  in  these  centers.  This  statement 
usually  evokes  some  protest,  for  the  reader  is  accustomed  to 
the  notion  that  Andalusia  is  the  incomparable  part  of  Spain, 
the  scene  of  every  great  event  in  her  history,  and  the  cradle  of 
Spanish  art;  that  the  grim  central  and  northern  provinces  were 
in  every  way  tributary  to  the  picturesque  and  romantic  south. 
But  when  one  pierces  through  the  glamor  which  the  Romantic 
School  cast  over  this  undeniably  delectable  land  wo  die  Citro- 
nen  blilhen  and  faces  bald  facts,  one  finds  that  most  of  the 
cities  which  had  been  of  prime  importance  under  Moorish 
rule  dwindled  to  paltry  towns  after  the  Reconquest,  and  that 
as  a  natural  result  there  was  but  little  building  activity. 

It  was  Fernando  HI  {Fernmido  el  Santo  since  his  canoniza- 
tion in  the  seventeenth  century)  who  deprived  the  Moors  of 
all  their  Andalusian  holdings  save  Granada.  In  1236  he 
took  Cordova  and  then  in  quick  succession  Murcia,  Jaen, 
and  Seville.  The  day  was  too  late  for  the  virile  Romanesque 
churches  that  had  marked  the  reclaiming  of  Castile;  and 
although  it  was  this  same  Fernando  who  had  ordered  the 
three  mighty  Gothic  cathedrals  of  Burgos,  Toledo,  and  Leon, 
he  made  no  similar  provision  for  his  new  cities.  To  do  so, 
and  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  was  no  doubt  his  intention; 
but  things  went  badly  with  Spain  under  his  successors,  who 

left  the  Christians  of  Andalusia  to  worship   in  ex-mosques, 

211 


212     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

and  in  fact  to  lag  in  every  way.  Cordova,  that  had  been  a 
marvel  of  art  and  the  intellectual  center  of  the  world  under 
the  Khalifate,  was  forever  extinguished.  Except  for  the 
unfortunate  Plateresque  coro  in  the  mosque  the  Christians 
gave  it  nothing;  though  it  must  be  said  to  their  credit  that 
they  appreciated  the  Arab  temple  and  fought  off  this  incon- 
gruous intrusion  as  long  as  possible.  Seville  might  have 
fallen  into  the  same  decay  as  Cordova  had  it  not  been  that  the 
conqueror  selected  it  as  a  royal  residence. 

As  the  incoming  Christians  of  the  year  1236  were  no  match 
for  the  Moors  in  carpentry  and  kindred  crafts,  Moorish  taste 
in  the  arrangement  and  disposition  of  the  house  persisted. 
In  the  ecclesiastical  field  the  early  Spaniards  were  content 
with  made-over  mosques  and  did  not  order  their  Gothic 
cathedral  until  1401.  Long  before  this,  however,  royal  pre- 
ference had  turned  north  again  and  the  city's  good  fortune 
suffered  a  relapse.  Political  life  continued  to  center  in  Castile 
until  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  took  the  decision  to  fight  the 
Moorish  campaign  to  a  finish.  This  brought  Andalusia,  and 
particularly  Seville,  into  great  prominence.  Here  the  court 
frequently  resided  while  the  war  was  in  progress;  consequently 
the  nobles  established  themselves  and  built  palaces. 

Yet  this  resuscitation,  since  it  had  no  economic  founda- 
tion, would  have  ended  in  nothing  more  than  temporary 
glamor  except  for  that  extraordinary  event,  the  discovery  of 
the  New  World.  This  gave  Seville  material  prosperity,  for 
the  sovereigns  invested  it  with  the  monopoly  of  transatlantic 
trade  and  created  the  Casa  de  Contratacion  and  the  Tribunal 
de  las  Indias  to  deal  with  colonial  affairs.  With  such  advan- 
tages Seville,  although  fifty  miles  up  the  Guadalquivir,  became 
the  chief  seaport  of  Spain.  It  is  said  that  whenever  the  silver 
fleet  came  in,  a  long  procession  of  ox-carts  was  kept  busy  car- 
rying the  ingots  from  the  wharves.  A  history  published  in 
the  sixteenth  century  gives  an  interesting  picture  of  those 
unexpected  golden  days:  **The  Casa  de  Contratacion  in  Sevilla, 
such  is  the  amount  of  business  transacted  by  it,  is  the  most 
rich  in  the  world  to-day.  It  is  the  center  of  all  the  markets 
of  the  earth,  and  Andalucia  and  Lusitania  which  formerly  were 


X 


? 

>   »8 

u  ^ 

(^  s 

o  ;5> 

o   ^ 

B  ^ 

<    o 
H  '^ 

^^ 


213 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO       21.1 


the  extreme  end  of  all  land  are  now,  since  the  discovery  of 
The  Indies,  become  as  the  middle  of  it  .  .  .  the  city  hums 
with  all  kinds  of  negotiations  and  buying  and  selling  in  which 
enormous    sums    are    exchanged;    so   that    neither   Tyre    nor 


Fig.  70 — Plan  of  the  Casas  Capitulates  or  City  Hall,  Seville. 

Heavy  portion  by  Diego  de  Riano,  152^,  and  remainder  added  in 

XIX  Century. 

Alexandria  in  their  day  could  have  equaled  it."'  Such  bus- 
tling trade  naturally  attracted  foreigners.  French,  Flemish, 
and  Italians  came,  these  last  being  mostly  bankers  to  replace 
the  expelled  Jews.  And  of  course  the  Carrara  contractors 
sent  their  agents,  knowing  that  prosperity  would  soon  express 
itself  in  monuments.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  great 
discovery  was  not  immediately  a  financial  success  for  Spain; 
rather  the  reverse;  a  fact  to  bear  in  mind  when  attention  is 
called  to  the  many  objects,  even  entire  ceilings,  gilded  with 
the  first  gold  brought  back  by  Christopher  Columbus.  The 
few  poor  trinkets  collected  by  Columbus  in  his  first  cruise 
around  the  West  Indies  would  not  have  gone  far  with  Isabella's 
goldsmiths  or  wood-gilders.  It  was  not  until  after  the  con- 
quest of  Mexico  and  Peru  that  Spanish  coffers  began  to  swell; 
and  so  the  sixteenth  century  had  passed  its  first  quarter  before 
an  important  municipal  building  rose. 

This  was   the  Casas  Capitulares  or  City  Hall   begun  in 
1527 — not  the  large  building  as  seen  to-day  but  merely  the 

'  El  Padre  Mercada,  Suma  de  Tratos  y  Contratos. 


216     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

southern  end  which  long  sufficed  for  municipal  needs  and 
which  the  eye  can  easily  detach  from  the  recently  added 
larger  portion  (see  plan,  Fig.  70).  The  architect  was  Diego 
de   Riafio.     Cean-Bermudez  gives  Juan   Sanchez,   but  many 


Fig.  71 — Detail  from  the  Entrance  Portal  of  the  Casas  Capitulates 

of  Seville. 
Diego  de  Riano,  Architect,  I^2y-J4. 

entries  in  the  archives  of  the  Ayuntamlento  contradict  him 
as  for  instance:  "The  above  Diego  de  Riafio  is  to  have  3333 
maravedises  and  a  half  which  are  the  second  third  of  the 
10,000  which  are  given  him  as  his  salary  for  the  year  which 
was  terminated  at  the  end  of  December,  1527,  for  being 
Maestro  Mayor  de  la  Ohra^  Riafio  came  probably  from 
Valladolid  to  take  charge  of  Seville  Cathedral  which  was  still 
building.  For  its  chapter  he  designed  two  sumptuous  depend- 
encies in  Renaissance  and   one  in  late   Gothic.     His  name   is 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO       217 

as  paramount  in  the  Plateresque  period  of  Seville  as  Diego 
de  Siloe's  is  in  that  of  Granada,  and  as  both  were  Castilians 
and  worked  simultaneously  in  these  two  chief  Andalusian 
cities,  a  comparison  is  natural.  The  most  accomplished  ex- 
ponent of  Plateresque  was  he  who  infused  into  it  the  greatest 
spontaneity  and  ingenuity — its  very  essence.  Riaiio's  is 
fresh  and  inspiring  even  after  the  lapse  of  centuries;  and  while 
structurally  he  accomplished  nothing  so  remarkable  as  Siloe's 
dome  to  the  Granada  Cathedral  (see  p.  284J  still  his  work  is 
much  more  Spanish;  that  is,  more  Plateresque. 

The  Casas  Capitulates,  or  Ayuntamiento  as  it  is  more 
often  called,  is  a  small  building  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old 
fish-market  whose  removal  had  been  ordered  by  the  Catholic 
Sovereigns  because  of  its  "bad  appearance  and  disturbing 
odors."  Back  of  the  Casas  stood  the  Convent  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  it  was  into  this  that  the  vaulted  archway  seen  on 
the  south  end  was  designed  to  lead.^  Not  even  a  fragmentary 
sketch  remains  to  show  what  the  original  intention  was  but 
judging  from  the  fact  that  in  1535  the  impatient  city  fathers 
suggested  "that  the  plans  be  cut  down  in  order  that  the  struc- 
ture may  be  more  quickly  finished"  it  would  seem  that  Riano 
had  designed  a  north  counterpart  to  the  charming  south  wing. 
If  this  scheme  had  been  carried  out  and  the  building  left  free- 
standing, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  would  have  been  one 
of  the  architectural  gems  of  Europe.  Its  diminutiveness 
would  not  have  forbidden  the  lavish  treatment  designed  for  it. 
To-day  this  sixteenth-century  facade  (Plate  XLI)  forms  but 
part  of  a  front  300  feet  long,  and  on  which  it  is  intended  to 
continue  the  same  copious  ornamentation;  one  doubts  whether 
the  result,  no  matter  how  fine  the  carving,  can  escape  being 
over-rich  and  monotonous.  Riafio's  plan  without  a  patio 
and  with  one  and  possibly  two  wings,  was  a  marked  departure 

'  This  monastery  was  of  incomparable  wealth  and  size;  its  church  extended  north  to 
the  Calle  Granada  where  one  of  the  nave  pillars  may  be  seen  incorporated  in  the  north- 
east angle  of  the  new  part  of  the  City  Hall.  Its  cloisters  covered  most  of  the  present 
Plaza  de  San  Fernando.  In  1810  Napoleon's  troops  sacked  it  and  either  intentionally 
or  accidentally  burned  it  almost  to  the  ground.  The  Franciscans  were  still  rebuilding 
when  the  Exclaustration  Act  came  in  1835.  It  was  then  taken  over  by  the  government 
as  a  barracks  and  finally  removed  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Ayuntamiento. 


218     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

from  the  accepted  Spanish  type  of  unbroken  perimeter.  It 
may  have  been  determined  by  the  exigencies  of  the  site,  but 
even  so  it  indicates  the  architect's  knowledge  of  the  ItaUan. 
In  his  ornament,  however,  he  was  thoroughly  Spanish;  but 


Fig.  72 — The  City's  Escutcheon  on  the  Facade  of  the  Ayuntamiento 
or  City  Hall,  Seville,  I534- 


with  even  more  than  the  usual  fervidness  for  the  figure.  The 
eminent  Professor  Justi  claims  that  Riano  invented  a  new 
system  of  ornament  in  which  special  emphasis  was  laid  on  the 
figure.  This  can  hardly  be  granted  but  it  is  true  that  his  use 
of  radiating  figures  in  the  dome  was  an  innovation — not  a 
new  system  of  ornament,  merely  his  personal  caprice.  Differ- 
ing from  the  earlier  system  where  concentrated  ornament 
contrasted  with  blank  wall  area,  here,  owing,  to  the  applica- 
tion of  the  orders,  it  is  distributed  over  the  entire  facade. 


PLATE  XLII 


5CM,E  CJT-^ 


I    FEET 


SCALE   DRAWING. OF  A  WINDOW  OF  THE  AYUNTAMIENTO,  SEVILLE. 
Diego  de  Riano,  Architect,  f52/-jj. 


219 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  AYORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO       2^21 

The  facility  of  the  execution  is  marvelous,  as  if  the  forms  had 
been  carved  in  feverish  haste  before  the  artist's  impression 
could  grow  vague.  Not  a  medallion  or  statue  but  repays 
examination.     One   of  the   most    naive   motifs   is   the   city's 


Fig.  73 — Sculptural  Panel  from  Fagade  of  A}Tintamiento,  Seville. 

escutcheon  (Fig.  72) — the  Saints  Fernando,  Isidor,  and  Lean- 
dro — most  Gothically  placed  over  a  window  perfectly  Renais- 
sance. Another  point  reminiscent  of  Gothic  may  be  seen  in 
the  reveals  of  window  and  door  openings  where  splayed  jamb^ 
were  preferred  to  the  more  classic  form  of  architrave.  In 
contrast  to  this  is  the  extraordinary  purity  of  all  the  moulded 
work,  more  classic  in  contour  than  most  Spanish  examples. 
The  chief  carver,  and  at  the  same  time  superintendent,  was 
Juan  Sanchez  who,  on  Riano's  early  death,  succeeded  him  as 
maestro  de  la  obra,  along  with  Martin  Gainza.  It  is  not  known 
where  Sanchez  came  from  but  certain  aspects  of  the  carving 
take  one  back  to  Salamanca.  There  may  be  some  connection 
between    this  resemblance  and    the    following  entry    in    the 


22>     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Lihro  de  Fahrica  of  the  cathedral  for  the  year  1530:  "Seventy 
ducats  were  given  to  Diego  de  Riano  to  pay  a  peon  who  had 
been  to  Salamanca  to  hire  artizans."  Apparently  Riano  was 
looking  for  carvers  who  could  interpret  his  design  free  from 
Mudejar  influence. 

The  original  City  Hall  was  entered  by  the  vestibule  on  the 
southeast  corner  whose  two  enormous  portals  left  it  practically 
open  to  the  street.  This  room  is  entirely  of  stone  with  a 
vaulted  ceiling  conceived  in  Gothic  but  with  Renaissance 
bosses  and  rib  profiles  (Fig.  74).  The  adjoining  stairway  is 
likewise  vaulted  in  stone,  its  ornamentation  coarser  than  that 
of  the  vestibule.  It  was  done  after  Riano's  death  but  shows 
his  designing  in  the  radiating  bas-reliefs  of  human  figures. 
The  same  arrangement  is  encountered  on  a  much  larger  scale 
in  the  sacristy  of  the  cathedral  designed  by  Riafio  and  carried 
out  long  after  by  Gainza.  The  most  important  room  of  the 
Ayuntamiento  is  the  upper  council-room  which  has  a  magnifi- 
cent ceiling  of  coffered  wood  richly  gilded  and  with  touches  of 
color  in  the  soffits  and  ribs.  This  artesonado  is  of  the  time 
of  Philip  II.  Who  designed  it  is  not  known  but  it  is  recorded 
that  Anton  Velasquez  and  another  image-painter  claimed  extra 
money  for  some  painting  and  gilding  which  they  "were  not 
obliged  by  contract  to  do,"  also  for  "extra  work  on  a  frieze 
which  was  ordered  blue  and  later  changed  to  Roman  gold." 
This  room  must  have  been  very  sumptuous  when  hung  with 
the  Cordova  leather  hangings  or  guadamaciles  ordered  for  it 
by  the  council  in  1533,  and  which  were  to  be  "very  good  and 
with  the  arms  of  the  Emperor  and  of  the  city  painted  and  gilded 
upon  them."  This  has  all  disappeared;  also  the  embroidered 
velvet  which  succeeded  it  and  which  was  burned  after  a  visita- 
tion of  the  plague.  Many  sculptors,  masons,  wood  carvers,  image 
painters,  and  "masters  in  making  letters"  had  to  be  called  in, 
to  judge  from  the  old  account  books  of  the  Ayuntamiento,  be- 
fore the  structure  was  declared  suitably  finished  and  the  following 
inscription  (now  removed)  carved  on  the  facade:  "Reigning  in 
CastillatheVeryHighandVeryCatholic  and  Very  Powerful  King 
Don  Felipe  II  .  .  .  this  building  was  completed  on  the  twenty- 
second  day  of  the  month  of  August  of  the  year  MDLXIII." 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  ^^'ORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO      223 

The  exterior  of  the  foregoing  having  been  nearly  completed 
before  Riafio's  death  in  1534  it  offers  a  more  satisfactory  study 
of  his  architecture  than  does  his  work  in  the  cathedral,  since 
this  had  hardly  been  commenced  before  that  date.     As  maestro 


Fig.  74 — Ceiling  of  Vestibule  in  the  Casas  Capitulares,  Seville. 
Diego  de  Riano,  Architect,  I^2y-J4. 

mayor  he  designed  the  small  Sacristy  of  the  Chalices  in  good 
late  Gothic,  the  main  sacristy  in  Plateresque,  and  the  chapter- 
room  decorated  in  the  style  of  the  classic  revival,  or  as  the 
enthusiastic  Sevillian  Don  Jose  Gestoso  y  Perez  expresses  it, 
Riano  worked  "in  pious  Gothic,  joyous  Plateresque,  and 
profound  classic."  This  last  is  meant  to  qualify  the  chapter- 
room  but  the  fact  is,  one  may  see  classic  more  profound  in  the 
upper  stage  of  the  Plateresque  sacristy.  The  chapter-room 
was  not  started   until   after  his  death  and  dragged  on  with 


224     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

many  alterations  until  the  end  of  the  century;  and  as  for  its 
decoration,   classic   revival  was    unknown  to    Riafio.       Even 
in  the  sacristy,  so  much  more  typical  of  him,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  Plateresque  is  so  personal,  and  so  much  depends 
on  the  actual  execution,  that  an  artist's  posthumous  work 
cannot  be  accepted  without  great  reservations.     The  orna- 
ment here  is  by  no  means  as  fine  as  that  of  the  City  Hall  but 
certainly  what  quality  it  has  is  due  to  the  high  standards  set 
in  the  earlier  building.     In  the  scheme,  on  the  other  hand, 
there   is   more   knowledge   of  classic   forms   than   previously 
revealed  by  him;  this  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
cathedral  chapter,  distraught  over  his  early  death,  immediately 
called  in  "F.  de  Siloe,  maestro  mayor  of  the  city  of  Granada, 
to  see  the  plans  and  visit  the  works  of  the  sacristy";  which 
F.  de  Siloe  can  be  no  other  than  Diego,  already  engaged  in 
erecting  his  Renaissance  cathedral  of  Granada.     This  entry 
in  the  records  is  the  only  ground  for  the  claim  made  by  certain 
Granadinos   that   their   "school"   spread   to   Seville.     It  was 
only  three  years  before  Riano's  death  that  the  chapter  em- 
powered him  to  order  stone  for  the  two  sacristies  from  Utrera, 
Puerta  de  Santa  Maria,  and  Jerez.     So  it  is  plain  to  be  seen 
how  little  progress  could  have  been  made  on  them.     One  is 
therefore  thrown  back  on  the  Ayuntamiento  for  a  concrete 
estimate  of  the  man's  work.     He  died  in  Valladolid  where 
he  was  permitted  to  pass  four  months  of  each  year  by  the 
terms  of  his  contract  with  the  Seville  chapter.     His  super- 
intendent Martin  Gainza,  whose  biography  is  not  known  but 
whose  name  is  Basque,  was  ordered  by  the  canons  to  make 
plaster  models   of  the    three    dependencies   according  to  the 
late   architect's   plans.     These   plans  they  had   safe   in   their 
possession  for  shortly  before  they  had  paid  Riano  fifty  ducats 
for  various  "conceptions"  but  on  condition  that  he  should 
first   deliver  to  them  "all  tracings,  plans,  and   other  papers 
which  he  had  made  in  order  that  the  majordomo  might  deposit 
them  in  the  archives."     When  Gainza  had  complied  Hernan 
Ruiz,  maestro  mayor  of  Cordova,  and  a  colleague  were  paid 
to  come  and  criticize  both  models  and  plans;  and  it  is  worth 
recording   as    further   proof  of  the    extreme    solicitude   with 


PLATE  XLIII 


REJA  OF  THE  CAPILLA  MAYOR,  SEVILLE  CATHEDRAL. 
By  Sanclio  Miinez  {and  probably  Fray  Fraticisco  de  Salamanca),  I^i8-jj. 


IS 


225 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK. OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO       227 

which  the  canons  proceeded  that  they  sent  for  Diego  de  Siloe 
and  Rodrigo  Gil  de  Ontarion  to  come  and  give  their  advice. 
All  reports  being  satisfactory^  Gainza,  now  maestro  mayor, 
was  authorized  to  continue  the  work.  On  his  death  late  in 
1555  architects  from  all  parts  were  invited  to  apply  for  the 
position.  By  September  of  1556  seven  had  presented  them- 
selves, among  them  Hernan  Ruiz  of  Cordova,  Andres  Van- 
delvira  of  Jaen,  Diego  de  Siloe,  and  Pedro  de  Machuca  of 
Granada,  but  this  last  entry  must  mean  Luis  de  Machuca. 
Ruiz  was  chosen  but  the  rejected  were  paid  fifty  ducats  *'for 
their  coming,  sojourning,  and  returning  and  for  the  plans 
they  made  for  the  masonry  work."  Ruiz  did  not  live  long 
and  again  experts  were  invited  to  qualify.  These  details 
are  given  to  show  to  what  extent  Riaiio's  intentions  were 
subjected  to  various  interpreters. 

In  plan  the  main  sacristy  is  a  cross  of  short  arms  sur- 
mounted by  a  dome.  Its  ornament,  as  already  mentioned,  is 
of  the  most  exuberant,  even  to  the  point  of  concealing  the 
simplicity  of  the  structure;  but  above  the  main  frieze  this 
Plateresque  exuberance  gives  way  to  more  conventional 
classic  in  the  shape  of  swags,  and  panels  of  dancing  warriors. 
The  actual  dome  and  supporting  pendentives  are  very  fine, 
and  show  none  of  the  restless  treatment  seen  below.  There 
are  three  horizontal  stages  to  the  dome,  adorned  with  radiat- 
ing figures  supplanting  ribs — an  arrangement  previously  re- 
ferred to  as  peculiarly  Riaiio's.  In  the  royal  chapel  by  Martin 
Gainza  may  be  seen  to  what  an  extreme  this  treatment  could 
be  carried;  for  here  every  principle  of  good  decoration  is 
thrown  aside  in  the  unbridled  desire  for  ornamentation. 

Among  the  many  treasures  guarded  in  this  sacristy  is  the 
silver  custodia  by  Juan  de  Arfe  y  Villafan,  third  generation 
in  Spain  of  the  famous  Arfe  family,  and  author  of  a  treatise 
on  classic  and  Renaissance  design.  The  custodia  stands  nearly 
ten  feet  high  and  is  in  the  form  of  a  classic  tempietto  (Fig. 
75).  Aside  from  its  consummate  skill  in  execution,  this  piece 
is  interesting  because  it  is  about  the  last  in  which  the  real 
quality  of  beaten  metal  is  preserved,  as  may  be  seen  by  com- 
paring it  with  the  same  master's  later  work  in  the  cathedral 


228     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 


of  Valladolid.  Another  masterpiece  in  metal  to  be  seen  in 
the  sacristy  is  the  huge  bronze  tenebraria  or  candelero  placed 
on  the  high  altar  during  Holy  week.  The  colossal  amount  of 
fine  Plateresque  rejeria  (iron  grilles)  in  this  cathedral  offers  a 

pretext  for  saying  something  about 
the  renowned  ironworkers  Sancho 
Mufiez  of  Cuenca  and  Fray  Fran- 
cisco of  Salamanca.  Their  pro- 
found knowledge  of  the  Italian  style 
is  exemplified  in  the  rejas  of  the 
capilla  mayor  and  coro,  one  of  which 
is  illustrated  in  Plate  XLIII.  The 
church  records  are  very  confused 
as  to  which  was  Muhez's  and  which 
the  friar's,  and  contradict  themselves 
many  times  over,  which  strengthens 
the  suspicion  that  the  striking  har- 
mony between  the  two  rejas  is  the 
result  of  close  collaboration  on  the 
part  of  the  rejeros.  Cuenca,  whence 
Mufiez  had  been  summoned  in  15 19 
by  the  canons,  was  famous  for  its 
ironworkers  and  possesses  several 
specimens  by  him  in  which  the 
Seville  motifs  reappear;  it  is  there- 
fore not  unreasonable  to  assume 
that  he  was  the  leading  spirit  in  the 
fashioning  of  these  mighty  Sevillian 
grilles.  The  resplendent  portion  of 
each  is  the  cresting,  consisting  of 
wreaths  and  scrolls  framing  biblical 
personages;  the  capilla  mayor  reja  has,  in  addition,  a  panel 
of  the  Entombment  which  is  a  magnificent  piece  of  embossing 
in  iron. 

Seville  Is  not  as  interesting  in  the  early  architectural 
periods  as  it  should  be  considering  its  prominence  under  the 
Romans  and  Moors.  As  was  usual  the  latter  quarried  from 
Roman  monuments  and  the  Christians  destroyed  the  Moorish. 


Fig  75 — Silver  Custodia 
ten  feet  high,  Seville  Cathe- 
dral. 

Juan  de  Arfe  y  Villafdn. 
1580-87 


PLATE  XLIV 


hmmf(M-U[ 


tAl  r==^  !!<'%    I 


iCItm 


^4^"~1' 


LA  GIRALDA,  THE  CAMPANILE  OF  SEVILLE  CATHEDRAL,  SEEN  IN 

DIRECT  ELEVATION  AND  IN  PERSPECTIVE  300  FEET 

FROM  ITS  BASE. 

229 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO       231 

Of  these  last  but  two  important  examples  remain  and  one  of 
them,  the  Alcazar,  was  almost  entirely  rebuilt  by  Peter  the 
Cruel  and  later  kings;  the  other,  the  almmar  or  prayer  tower 
of  the  chief  mosque,  was  converted  into  a  belfry  and  is  known 
all  the  world  over  as  the  Giralda  (Plate  XLIV).  It  takes  its 
place  here  because  in  the  sixteenth  century  a  Spanish  architect, 
Hernan  Ruiz,  son  of  the  maestro  mayor  of  Cordova,  crowned 
it  with  a  Renaissance  stage,  and  the  result  is  a  most  skillful 
welding  of  Asiatic  and  European  architecture.  The  Arab 
portion  consists  of  a  core  and  an  outer  shell,  the  latter  measur- 
ing 45  feet  square;  between  the  two  there  is  an  ascending 
ramp  of  easy  grade.  As  originally  built  the  core  rose  some 
40  feet  above  the  outer  wall  and  both  were  finished  off  with 
pointed  battlements,  in  addition  to  which  the  core  bore  a 
dome  of  polychrome  tiles  crowned  by  four  diminishing  bronze 
spheres.  All  this,  it  is  plain,  must  have  been  a  perfectly 
satisfactory  Oriental  conception.  In  this  first  form  the  prayer 
tower  stood  intact  from  the  twelfth  century  until  the  four- 
teenth when  an  earthquake  shattered  the  iron  supports  of  the 
spheres.  These  and  the  dome  were  removed,  and  as  the  city 
was  now  Christian,  they  were  replaced  by  a  crude  bell  sup- 
port. At  the  same  time  a  row  of  pointed  arches  holding  a 
bell,  was  substituted  for  the  battlements  of  the  outer  wall. 

Thus  the  alviinar  became  a  campanile.  The  chief  mosque 
alongside  had  served  as  a  cathedral  until  the  opening  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  as  already  stated,  when  it  was  torn  down 
to  make  place  for  the  slow-building  Gothic  structure.  In 
1568,  Ruiz,  maestro  mayor  of  the  cathedral,  was  instructed 
by  the  chapter  to  design  a  Renaissance  termination  to  the 
tower,  and  crowned  it  with  an  enormous  bronze  statue  of  Faith 
holding  the  banner  of  Constantine.  This  Faith  (instead  of 
being  fixed  and  unchanging)  is  the  giraldillo  or  weather-vane 
which  gives  the  whole  tower  its  popular  name,  for  the  statue, 
though  weighing  a  ton  and  a  quarter,  is  so  adjusted  as  to 
turn  with  the  wind.  Ruiz's  portion  of  the  Giralda  consists 
of  a  first  arched  stage  of  equal  diameter  with  the  old  and  built 
around  the  same  cofe;  but  it  does  not  extend  to  the  full  height 
of  the  core  which  rises  above  and  forms  the  base  of  the  Renais- 


232     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 


sance  spire.  The  structure  now  measures  287  feet  high;  and, 
as  the  eye  travels  upward,  one  is  unconscious  of  any  abrupt 
transition  in  the  union  of  the  new  with  the  old.  The  same 
color  of  brick,  but  not  the  same  kind,  was  used  in  the  sixteenth 

century  as  in  the  twelfth,  but  no 
attempt  was  made  to  imitate  the 
exquisite  patterning  of  the  Moors; 
instead   the    two    stages    are    tied 

b^K^m  together    principally   by   carrying 

^^F  the  important  vertical  lines  of  the 

JS^  older  portion  up  through  the  new. 

Ruiz's  belfry  piers,  necessarily 
solid,  were  made  to  echo  the  light- 
ness of  the  lower  portion  by  means 
of  an  inlay  of  black  tiles  suggest- 
ing perforations.  The  openness  of 
the  design  at  this  point  affords  an 
opportunity  of  studying  the  con- 
struction, entirely  carried  out  in 
brick  and  in  a  manner  no  less 
thorough  than  the  work  below  by 
the  Moorish  architect  Jabir.  The 
transition  between  the  slender  pro- 
longation of  the  core  and  the  main 
shaft  is  more  happy  in  perspective 
than  in  direct  elevation,  due  to 
the  skillful  handling  of  the  balus- 
trade motifs  and  the  curious  corner  pinnacles  (Fig.  76) 
built  up  of  stone  and  iron. 

Judging  the  tower  as  a  whole,  it  is  assuredly  an  inspiring  and 
monumental  composition.  It  is  as  homogeneous  as  if  it  had 
been  erected  from  the  ground  up  in  the  sixteenth  century,  a 
symbol  of  Spanish  culture  itself  which  was  so  largely  built 
on  Moorish  foundations.  Yet  modern  critics,  faithfully  re- 
peating each  other  year  after  year,  deplore  Ruiz's  work  as 
a  "mutilation"  and  claim  that  he  might  have  done  much 
better  *'if  only  he  had  had  some  feeling  for  art,  as  had  his 
contemporaries  who  were  filling  all  Spain  with  architectural 


Fig.  76 — A  Corner  Pinnacle 

of  the  Giralda  Tower,  Seville. 

By  Herndn  Ruiz,  ij68. 


SEVILLE  AND  THE  ^YORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  RIANO      233 

marvels.  There  is  nothing  to  admire  in  the  outUne  of  the 
tower,  nothing  graceful  to  exalt  the  spirit,  and  nothing  finally 
which  is  remarkable  in  its  constructional  daring."  The 
architect,  like  the  average  layman  of  Seville  who  loves  his 
Giralda  passionately,  will  be  inclined  to  dispute  each  one  of 
these  points.  It  does  uplift  the  spirit,  for  Ruiz's  portion 
embodies  what  all  the  Gothicists  tried  to  express  in  their 
lofty  spires;  also  it  is  structurally  adventurous.  Seeing  that 
Moorish  towers  had  to  be  christianized,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
it  could  have  been  done  better.  Furthermore,  seeing  that 
the  Spaniards  had  a  mania  for  tearing  down  Moorish  edifices 
we  may  be  thankful  that  the  prayer-tower  has  been  preserved 
even  though  ''mutilated." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT  OSUNA 

PREVALENCE  OF  MUDEJAR  TRADITIONS  IN  DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE — 

COLOR  FREELY  USED  IN  INTERIORS THE   PATIO  CHIEFLY  AN  EXPRESSION 

IN  YESERIA — METHODS  OF  WORKING  PLASTER — AZULEJOS  AND  THEIR 
USE — INTRODUCTION  OF  RENAISSANCE  DESIGNS  BY  THE  ITALIAN  CERAMIST 
FRAY  NICULOSO  OF  PISA — HIS  PORTAL  TO  THE  CONVENT-CHURCH  OF  SANTA 

PAULA SEVILLIAN    GARDENS    AND    THEIR     TREATMENT — HOUSE     OF    THE 

DUKE  OF  ALBA,  KNOWN  LOCALLY  AS  THE  CASA  DE  LAS  DUENAS — OTHER 
MUDEJAR  HOUSES THE  RIBERA  TOMBS  IN  THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  UNIVER- 
SITY— THE  TOWN  OF  OSUNA  NEAR  SEVILLE — THE  COLLEGIATE  CHURCH 
AND   THE    SEPULCRO    DE    LOS    DUQUES 


234 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE  AND  THE   MONUMENTS  AT  OSUNA 

THE  Renaissance  had  comparatively  little  effect  on  the 
domestic  architecture  of  Seville,  as  was  natural  in 
a  city  where  Moorish  traditions  had  survived  the 
Reconquest.  The  same  observation  has  already  been  made 
with  reference  to  Toledo,  but  the  type  of  dwelling  evolved 
by  the  Moors  of  Andalusia  was  altogether  gayer  and  more 
attractive  than  that  in  the  stern  Castilian  city.  Outside, 
the  Sevillian  house  was  little  more  than  white  stucco  and  this 
continued  to  suffice  even  during  the  era  of  great  prosperity. 
In  1586  Alonso  de  Morgado  wrote  in  his  Historia  de  Sevilla 
that  Sevillians  were  commencing  to  ornament  their  houses  on 
the  street  side  **  having  in  the  past  spent  all  their  money  on 
the  interior  as  in  Moorish  days  without  thinking  of  the  ex- 
terior"; but  his  next  sentence  describes  nothing  more  in  the 
way  of  outer  additions  than  rich  rejas.  The  poetic  chronicler 
appears  to  have  been  led  into  an  undue  exaggeration  of  the 
architectural  importance  of  rejas  by  the  fact  that  "an  infinite 
number  of  noble  and  chaste  ladies  honor  said  rejas  by  their 
presence."  True,  a  few  marble  entrances  were  imported  from 
Genoa  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  facades  achieved  any  real 
architectural  treatment.  The  nearest  approach  to  such  is 
the  little  top-story  loggia  now  walled  up  in  many  examples. 
In  default  of  architecture,  the  interior  offers  a  wealth  of 
inspiration  in  the  decorative  field.  Color  was  the  dominating 
note  supplied  by  polychrome  azulejos  in  floors  and  walls  and 
by  painted  wooden  ceilings.  Marble  was  always  used  for 
the  slender  patio  column  which  supported  richly  worked 
yeseria  arches;  and  many  such  columns  are  in  fact  from  older 

235 


^36     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Moorish  buildings.  As  for  plan,  that  was  the  usual  grouping 
of  rooms  around  the  patio;  but  as  the  needs  and  wealth  of  the 
family  grew  this  arrangement  was  repeated  with  interesting 
irregularity  until,  to  cite  the  Ribera  house  (now  the  Alba), 
the  scheme  included  no  less  than  eleven  patios.  The  principal, 
which  was  rarely  the  first  one  entered,  kept  its  character  of 
an  outdoor  room  and  was  covered  with  an  awning  {toldo) 
while  the  others  were  either  paved  or  treated  as  gardens.  As 
a  rule  only  the  principal  one  was  architecturalized. 

The  patio  was  primarily  an  expression  in  yeseria,  the  motifs 
of  which  show  an  imaginative  combination  of  Moorish,  Gothic, 
and  Renaissance.  It  is  odd  that  plasterwork  and  tiles,  both 
directly  due  to  the  Moslems,  should  have  been  the  chief 
vehicle  of  Renaissance  expression;  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  of  stone  carving  there  was  practically  none,  and  that  in 
woodwork — doors,  shutters,  and  ceilings — Moorish  carpenteria 
prevailed.  The  yeseria  arches  of  the  patio  are  semicircular 
and  stilted,  and  the  archivolt  is  profusely  worked.  This  last 
instead  of  resting  on  the  classic  entablature  rests  on  a  moulded 
box  whose  spread  permits  of  the  most  characteristic  detail 
of  the  style — the  secondary  pilaster  between  the  arches,  which 
is  a  survival  of  the  vertical  Moorish  inscription  band.  In 
the  Sevillian  house  such  pilasters  are  nearly  always  treated  in 
pure  Plateresque  no  matter  how  Oriental  may  be  the  rest  of 
the  design.  The  spandrel  was  rarely  ornamented  at  first 
but  later  was  filled  with  Plateresque  forms  or,  as  in  the  Pinelos 
house,  with  portrait  busts.  Yeseria  again  appears  in  the 
ornamental  frame  around  the  lofty  openings  leading  from  the 
patio,  and  in  the  friezes  that  support  the  wooden  ceilings 
inside.  This  early  Spanish  yeseria  was  not  cast  but  carved 
— the  practice  prevailing  in  Morocco  to-day.  The  plaster 
was  cut  into  blocks  2  inches  thick  and  varying  from  18  inches 
to  3  feet  in  length;  these  were  laid  up  in  much  the  same  man- 
ner as  stone  would  have  been,  except  that  in  curved  surfaces 
such  as  the  sofl[it  of  an  arch  the  usual  method  of  plastering 
was  followed.  The  proposed  ornament  was  then  scratched 
on.  Presumably  the  Moorish  artizans  employed  on  this 
work  went  about  it  much  as  in  Morocco  to-day;  without   a 


PLATE  XLV 


illlI»lilTiq»viiklii]fciK>J^:^  f  ;K;rs,...  ,i 


'{•{V-i^.  ^^^.-I'A^  1^^0*0  Cj."^,K 


v  1-  r-r- 


acjBLCr;: 


iMdii 


YESERIA  PANELS  FROM  THE  CASA  DEL  DUQUE  DE  ALBA, 

SEVILLE. 
237 


THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE 


239 


pattern,  having  at  their  finger-tips  all  the  combinations  possible 
within  the  limits  of  their  geometric  design.  When  Renaissance 
arabesques  and  figure  work  were  demanded,  however,  it  is 
probable  that  a  stencil  was  furnished,  which  proceeding  would 


fifPP 


mrmmsimmfifm 


mmmmm 


Fig.  77 — Panel  of  Iridescent  Azulejos  in  the  Casa  Pilatos,  Seville. 


account  for  the  regularity  seen  in  the  units  of  such  design. 
Original  work  is  found  only  in  odd  bits  but  where  restorations 
have  been  undertaken  casts  have  been  made  from  the  old 
blocks  to  supply  the  missing  portions.  In  a  patio  thus  filled 
out  one  is  able  to  gather  a  fairly  good  impression  of  its  former 
efi^ectiveness.  None  of  the  sixteenth-century  yeseria  was 
colored;  it  was  employed  for  its  own  charm  and  was  not,  as 


240     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

in  Moorish  edifices,  a  field  for  that  bewildering  polychrome 
decoration  which  so  often  suggests  the  pastry-cook's  art. 
Left  uncolored  it  assumes  a  rich  old  ivory  tone.  In  texture 
it  is  no  longer  the  fine  dense  substance  the  Moors  produced; 


Fig.  78 — Sunken  Patio  in  the  Casa  de  los  Venerables  Sacerdotes,  Seville. 

that  process  appears  to  have  been  lost;  but  being  coarse  and 
the  tool  marks  evident,  it  has  its  own  charm  as  may  be  seen 
in  Plate  XLV.  It  is  when  used  as  a  frieze  that  yeseria  most 
appeals  to  the  modern. 

Another  feature  peculiar  to  the  Andalusian  house  is  the 
incorporation  on  a  very  large  scale  of  enameled  earthenware 
in  the  form  of  tiles.  This  fashion  is  believed  to  have  been 
brought  to  Seville  along  with  patterned  brickwork  by  the 
invading  Almohades  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  tile  still 
retains  its  popularity  as  well  as  its  Arab  name  azulejo  (<2/  =  the, 
and  zulecha  =  ^2iZtA  brick,  according  to  the  most  recent 
students).  It  would  be  impossible  to  form  an  idea  from  mere 
description  of  the  extent  to  which  the  azulejos  were  used  in 
Seville  and  its  region.  The  zocalo^  corresponding  to  our  wain- 
scot, is  entirely  of  azulejos,  and  in  older  houses  it  runs  to  a 
height  of  ten  feet,  as  in  the  Casa  Pilatos.     Here  it  is  divided 


PLATE  XLVI 


ALTAR  OF  AZULEJOS  IN  THE  REAL  ALCAZAR,  SEVILLE. 
By  Francisco  Niculoso  of  Pisa,  ijoj. 


i6 


241 


PLATE  XLVII 


AZULEJO  PORTAL  OF  THE  C0N\'T:NT0  DE  SAXTA  PAULA,  SEVILLE. 

By  Fray  Francisco  Niculoso  of  Pisa. 

243 


THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE 


245 


off  by  different  patternings  into  a  series  of  panels  (Fig.  77) 
and  these,  with  their  splendid  coloring  and  luster,  give  the 
effect  of  a  row  of  Oriental  silk  rugs;  which  no  doubt  is  precisely 
what  they  were  meant  to  suggest  in  the  Spanish  Arab's  home. 


Fig.  79 — Azulejo  Treatment  in  the  Gardens  of  the  Real  Alcazar,  Seville. 


In  many  coffered  wooden  ceilings  a  tile  forms  the  center  of 
each  casetbn;  in  floors  and  stairs  they  are  usually  combined 
with  bricks  or  dull  red  square  tiles;  in  gardens  and  patios, 
whole  benches,  paths,  and  fountains  are  made  of  them  (Fig. 
78)  and  there  is  even  an  entire  azulejo  facade  on  a  sixteenth- 
century  house  in  Carmona,  near  Seville. 

The  first  Moorish  azulejos  were  true  mosaics,  the  tile 
maker  cutting  innumerable  small  pieces  from  white,  black, 
blue,  and  green  baked  squares,  and  fitting  them  together  in 
geometric  patterns.  The  process  was  difficult  and  wasteful 
and  was  superseded  by  the  cuerda  seca  (dry  line).  By  this 
method  the  pattern,  after  being  impressed  on  the  wet  clay 
by  a  matrix,  was  outlined  with  a  mixture  of  grease  and  man- 
ganese  which   prevented    the    colors   from    running   together 


246     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

when  floated  over  the  intervening  spaces.  The  colors  on 
being  baked  formed  a  low  rehef  and  the  cuerda  seca  of  grease 
acted  hke  the  metal  line  in  cloisonne.  About  the  early  six- 
teenth century  two  new  processes  appeared,  the  cuenca  and 
the  pisano.  In  that  known  as  the  cuenca  (concavity)  the 
design  was  pressed  in,  leaving  a  fine  ridge  of  clay  to  form  the 
barrier  between  the  various  colors;  the  result  was  the  exact 
contrary  of  the  cuerda  seca^  the  body  of  the  design  being 
depressed  and  its  outline  raised.  In  the  pisano  process,  so 
called  because  introduced  by  Fra  Francesco  Niculoso  of  Pisa, 
the  subjects  were  freely  painted  on  the  clay.  Renaissance 
arabesques  and  decorative  figures  comprised  the  first  designs 
but  later  the  process  degenerated  into  mere  servile  imitation 
of  large  paintings  (Plate  XL VI).  The  monk's  backgrounds 
were  usually  yellow,  but  two  tones,  blue  on  white,  were  also 
used.  Until  the  middle  seventeenth  century,  cuencas  and 
pisanos  were  made  in  countless  numbers.  The  painted  tile 
while  not  as  interesting  in  surface  as  the  others  was  more 
easily  made  and  became  a  most  popular  architectural  adjunct. 
As  such  it  may  be  seen  in  Fray  Niculoso's  beautiful  doorway 
to  the  convent-church  of  Santa  Paula  (Plate  XLVII). 

Seville  still  has  many  fine  Moorish  ceilings  but  this  feature 
is  even  more  abundant  in  Granada  and  will  be  examined  in 
Chapter  X.  Sevillian  gardens,  however,  have  no  counter- 
part anywhere  and  are  particularly  grateful  after  the  dearth 
in  Castile.  With  no  relation  to  any  European  prototype  they 
were  entirely  a  Moorish  conception — a  cool  retreat  from  the 
Andalusian  sun.  Even  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century 
they  had  attained  fame,  for  the  eminent  Granadino  Eben 
Said  wrote  in  his  Descripcion  de  Espana  y  Africa:  "At  present 
[1237]  the  splendor  of  Andalusia  appears  to  have  spread  to 
Tunis  where  the  sultan  is  constructing  palaces  and  planting 
gardens  in  the  Andalusian  manner.  All  his  architects  are 
natives  of  Andalusia  .  .  .  also  his  gardeners."  What  sur- 
vives to-day  of  the  extensive  Moorish  scheme  is  a  small  per- 
manent or  planted  portion  of  green,  with  flowering  plants 
used  sparingly  and  always  in  pots  so  as  to  be  variously  grouped 
from  time  to  time.     This  Seville  garden   is  small,  intimate. 


PLATE  XLVIII 


GARDEN  OF  THE  MUSEO  PROVINCIAL,  SEVILLE. 


247 


THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE 


249 


never  visible  from  the  street,  in  no  sense  a  setting  for  the 
house  but  rather  the  reverse — the  white-walled  house  a  setting 


Fig.  8o — Garden  of  the  Casa  Pilatos,  Seville. 


for  the  garden.  Being  restricted  and  personal  its  success 
depends  largely  on  the  neat  study  of  its  detail.  The  nucleus 
is  always  the  basin,  its  water  fed  from  a  low  centerpiece  of 
ceramics;  this  is  generally  octagonal  and  entirely  constructed 
of  azulejos.  Basin  and  paths  leading  to  it  form  a  unit  of 
design,  repeated  according  to  the  area  to  be  treated  and  thus 
keeping  the  scale  uniformly  small.     The  whole  layout  is  an 


250     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

interesting  study  in  primary  colors;  the  field  of  green  is  fre- 
quently secured  by  a  low  creeping  vine  instead  of  grass  and 
serves  to  set  off  the  positive  reds,  blues,  and  yellows  of  the 
azulejos;  for  azulejos,  more  often  than  flowers,  are  the  domi- 
nating note  of  color  in  the  green  scheme.  Paths  are  of  either 
dull  red  tile  interspersed  with  azulejos  or  bright  yellow  sand, 
and  outlined  in  either  case  by  colored  curb  tiles.  The  poly- 
chrome of  the  azulejos,  while  used  effectively,  is  not  a  neces- 
sity, for  results  just  as  distinctive  are  obtained  in  two  colors, 
blue  and  white,  green  and  white,  or  yellow  and  white.  In  the 
former  Convento  de  la  Merced,  now  the  Provincial  Museum, 
is  a  recently  made-over  example  carried  out  in  this  manner 
(Plate  XLVIII).  The  basin  is  of  the  two  dominant  tones 
but  richer  color  notes  are  used  in  the  bottom  of  the  pool. 
The  main  paths  are  tiles — a  basket-weave  pattern  of  dull  red 
bricks  interspersed  with  blue  and  white  azulejos;  subsidiary 
paths  are  sanded.  All  are  bordered  with  alternate  blue  and 
white  tiles  2  inches  wide  and  8  long.  Around  the  various 
centerpieces  and  on  the  edges  of  the  pool  are  placed  blue  and 
white  flower-pots  containing  geraniums.  The  whole  treat- 
ment is  one  of  precision  and  orderliness — a  sort  of  glorified 
mosaic.  In  old  examples  that  have  fallen  into  decay,  natu- 
rally this  excessive  orderliness  has  disappeared  and  though 
these  have  the  charm  of  all  abandoned  gardens  the  distinctive 
Andalusian  note  is  felt  less. 

One  of  the  most  admired  Mudejar  houses  in  Seville  and 
justly  so  is  that  of  the  Dukes  of  Alba.  It  was  founded  by  the 
Pinedas  who  had  to  sell  it  in  1484  to  the  Riberas  in  order  to 
raise  money  to  ransom  the  head  of  their  house  from  the  Moors 
of  Granada.  The  sixteenth-century  part  is  therefore  due  to 
the  Riberas,  who  later  intermarried  with  the  Albas.  These 
Riberas  were  of  princely  estate  and  built  simultaneously  the 
other  renowned  example  in  the  city,  the  so-cafled  Casa  de 
Pilatos;  but  the  latter  is  much  more  Moorish  in  spite  of  its 
portal  and  thirteen  of  the  patio  columns  having  been  executed 
in  Genoa  (along  with  the  well-known  Ribera  tombs).  The 
Alba  palace  has  the  advantage,  so  infrequent  in  towns  even 
of  Andalusia,  of  an  extensive  forecourt  (see  plan,  Plate  XLIX), 


PLATE  XLIX 


o  » 


JO  73  loo 


Scale    of    feet 

PLAN  OF  THE  CASA  DEL  DUQUE  DE  ALBA,  SEVILLE. 


251 


THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE  253 

but  as  It  Is  known  that  the  existing  house  was  but  a  portion 
of  the  eadler,  the  forecourt  may  have  been  enclosed  by  build- 
ings formerly  and  thus  conformed  to  the  Spanish  custom  of 
building  on  the  street.  The  entrance  to  the  forecourt  dates 
from  the  seventeenth  century;  at  Its  left  Is  the  porter's  lodge 
and  at  the  right  a  secondary  stable.  The  exterior  of  the  main 
building,  It  Is  said,  was  originally  of  red  brick  relieved  by 
bands  of  azulejos;  now  It  Is  all  In  white  stucco  and  the  composi- 
tion Is  simplicity  Itself  with  no  architectural  treatment  what- 
ever. 

On  passing  Into  the  first  vestibule  or  dismounting  space 
with  Its  Inevitable  long  bench  one  sees  a  good  sixteenth-cen- 
tury beamed  celling,  undecorated.  A  more  elaborate  one, 
but  also  unpalnted,  Is  In  the  small  recibidor  approached  by 
several  steps  at  the  left  end  of  the  vestibule.  Separated  from 
this  recibidor  by  a  good  reja  Is  an  Interesting  stalrhall,  but 
not  the  principal  one,  treated  In  azulejos.  Returning  to  the 
main  patio  It  Is  amusing  to  dissect  It  and  classify  Its  various 
features:  arches  and  door  frames  of  Mudejar  yeseria;  painted 
ceilings  both  Renaissance  and  Moorish;  Gothic  rejas  and  a 
Gothic  parapet  of  stone,  and  lastly  huge  Mudejar  wooden 
doors  swung  on  pivots  as  In  the  Alhambra,  the  lower  pivot 
sunken  Into  the  floor  and  the  upper  received  by  a  projecting 
corbel  above.  Such  a  patio,  needless  to  add.  Is  distinctly 
Oriental  In  its  ensemble  but  on  examining  the  various  features 
much  pure  Renaissance  detail  Is  revealed  (Plate  L).  As  may 
be  seen  In  the  plan,  the  even  number  of  bays  prevents  It  from 
being  on  axis  with  either  the  entrance,  the  surrounding  rooms, 
or  the  garden.  Opening  off  from  It  are  several  fine  salons 
with  beautifully  decorated  ceilings;  but  the  most  striking 
room  here  Is  the  chapel  with  the  ribs  of  Its  vaulted  celling, 
also  the  altar  and  zocalo,  all  of  Iridescent  azulejos.  These 
tiles  are  admitted  to  be  the  finest  extant  specimens  of  metallic 
reflections  {reflejos  metdlicos)  and  the  whole  room  Is  aglow  with 
gold.  From  the  left  end  of  the  large  salon  passed  through 
to  reach  the  chapel  opens  a  smaller  room  whose  beamed  cell- 
ing has  never  been  restored  and  Is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  house. 
The  general  background  Is  red  brown,  the  soflits  of  the  large 


254     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

beams  are  patterned  in  black,  and  the  panels  between  the 
beams  are  also  practically  black,  with  decoration  picked  out 
in  red,  light  blue,  and  gold.  The  celling  rests  on  a  yeseria 
frieze   about  three  feet  high.     On  this  floor  the  remaining 


Fig.  8 1 — Decorated  Wooden  Ceiling  in  the  Casa  del  Duque  de  Alba, 

Seville. 

important  salon,  that  to  the  north  of  the  patio,  was  apparently 
used  as  a  summer  dining-room  (for  it  was,  and  still  is,  cus- 
tomary to  move  down  to  the  cooler  ground  floor  in  summer). 
This  dining-room  had  no  windows  but  was  open  at  one  end 
to  the  garden.  Here,  too,  is  a  fine  ceiling  and  a  rich  yeseria 
frieze.  The  principal  stair  is  vast  and  constitutes  a. wing  to 
the  building;  but  it  is  unattractive  and  bare,  its  former  arte- 
sonado  having  disappeared.  As  was  customary,  one  side 
of  the  patio,  or  rather  of  the  whole  structure,  was  left  open 
at  the  second  story  level  to  form  a  terrace  overlooking  the 


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255 


THE  SEVILLIAX  HOUSE 


257 


garden,  which  Hes  to  the  right  of  the  house.     On  this  second 
floor  are  some  beautiful  ceihngs  recently  brought  to  light  after 


fe  rJi^;;¥  Tt  ^v,  .i«  ^>f  '^  ^   m 
rMmmn"  ::"'!)"!i'f(f!f(!/;^:'!':f»!(fif(> 


5^: 


Fig.  82 — Doorway  in  Upper  Cloister  of  the  Casa  del  Duque  de  Alba, 

Seville. 


having  been  plastered  over  for  centuries;  the  finest  is  that  in 
the  lofty  salon  in  the  northwest  corner  under  the  cupola.  In 
its  treatment  the  Alba  house  is  typical  of  sixteenth-century 
domestic  work  in  Seville  f  that  is,  the  Renaissance  did  little 
more  than  penetrate  into  the  applied  decoration. 

The  Casa  Pilatos  already  referred  to  is  more  pronouncedly 


258     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Moorish  although  Its  building  continued  throughout  the  entire 
century.  The  yeseria  in  particular  is  more  Oriental  but  several 
of  the  ceilings  and  rejas  are  Renaissance.  Similar  ceilings 
are  in  the  well-known  Palacio  Olea  in  the  street  of  Guzman  el 
Bueno.  The  most  Plateresque  yeseria  in  the  city  is  in  the 
Pinelos  house  in  the  Calle  Abades,  but  this  has  been  greatly 
restored.  Here,  in  the  treatment  of  the  secondary  pilasters 
and  the  reliefs  in  the  spandrels,  Renaissance  is  more  architec- 
turally appreciated  than  elsewhere.  In  the  Calle  Levis,  the 
former  Jewry,  is  a  neglected  old  palace  which  appears  to  have 
been  more  distinctly  Renaissance  than  any  other  example. 
It  has  been  converted  into  a  tenement  for  half  a  hundred 
families,  but  many  of  its  ceilings,  carved  eaves,  and  other 
fragments  of  the  century  are  still  well  preserved. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  princely  Ribera  family 
ordered  their  tombs  from  Genoese  sculptors.  These  sculptors, 
Antonio  Aprile  and  Pace  Gazini,  were  apparently  a  firm  with 
agents  in  Seville  and  they  also  furnished  marble  accessories 
for  the  Ribera  palace  and  the  Alcazar.  The  tombs  were  first 
placed  in  the  rich  Carthusian  monastery  in  Triana  (now  a 
pottery)  but  were  removed  by  the  family  and  placed  in  the 
University  Chapel  on  the  secularizing  of  the  monasteries. 
Most  praised  are  the  wall  monuments  of  Don  Pedro  Enrique 
de  Ribera  by  Aprile,  and  of  his  wife  Doha  Catalina  by  Gazini 
(Plate  LI) ;  but  the  truth  is  that  these  works  display  a  lack 
of  sentiment  rare  even  in  the  most  commercial  work  of  the 
Genoese  stone-cutters.  The  ornament  is  formal  and  is  not 
helped  out  by  the  cold  bluish  marble  in  which  it  is  carved. 
The  tombs  are  nevertheless  very  sumptuous  and  "attracted 
so  much  attention  when  first  set  up  in  the  Cartuja  that  the 
sculptors  received  several  contracts  from  important  Sevillian 
families."  Too  much  cannot  be  said  for  another  Ribera 
monument  of  a  different  sort — the  magnificent  large  floor  slab 
commemorating  Per  Afan  de  Ribera,  Viceroy  of  Naples  (d. 
1571).  This  is  in  bronze,  with  a  characteristic  full-length 
engraved  figure  and  an  exquisite  border.  The  provenance  of 
Per  Afan's  monument  is  unknown  but  it  is  as  fine  in  its  way 
as  the  beautiful  Venetian    bronze  in    Badajoz  Cathedral  to 


259 


THE  SEVILLIAX  HOUSE 


261 


another  ambassador  to  Italy,  Lorenzo  de  Figueroa.  This 
University  Church  contains  other  treasures  including  several 
statues  by  the  great  polychromist  Montafies. 

Osuna,  some  sixty  miles  east  of  Seville,  is  the  ancient  seat 


Fig.  83 — Detail  from  Patio  in  the  Sepulcro  de  los  Duques,  Osuna, 

of  the  Dukes  of  Osuna  and  possesses  a  monument  of  great 
interest  to  the  student  of  Plateresque.  This  is  the  collegiate 
church  with  the  beautiful  sepulcro  de  los  duques  under  the 
high  altar.  It  was  in  1548  that  an  illustrious  member  of  the 
family,  Don  Juan  Tellez  Giron,  ''chief  gentleman  in  waiting 
to  the  king  and  one  of  the  four  grandees  named  in  1539  by 
the  Cortes  of  Toledo,"  founded  the  university  and  converted 
the  simple  parochial  church  into  a  colegiata,  both  to  be  a 
memorial  to  his  parents.  The  university  has  no  architec- 
tural merit  but  the  pantheon  and  the  church  possess  consider- 
able and  are  in  purest  Plateresque  notwithstanding  their 
late  date.  The  mausoleum  is  built  at  the  base  of  the  apse 
of  the  church  and  is  for  the  most  part  underground,  forming 


26^2     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

a  remarkable  succession  of  rooms.  The  diminutive  patio, 
15  feet  square  with  two  bays  to  a  side  (Plate  LII),  is  first 
entered.  Treated  all  in  white  except  for  the  beamed  ceiling 
in  red  and  gold,  this  patio  is  particularly  striking,  and  the 


Fig.  84 — Garden  Entrance  to  the  Sepulcro  de  los  Duques,  Osuna. 


same  scheme,  with  the  addition  of  some  vermilion  lacquered 
chairs,  is  carried  out  in  the  little  reception  room.  The  basis 
of  the  whole  pantheon  treatment  is  plaster  of  rich  Plateresque 
ornamentation.  While  the  detail  is  purely  Italian  many  of 
the  torms  are  distinctly  Spanish,  as,  for  example,  the  little 
impost  between  the  arches  (Fig.  83),  the  baluster  colonnette 
at  the  corners,  and  the  curious  entablatures  of  the  marble 


PATIO  IX  THE  SEPULCRO  DE  LOS  DUQUES,  OSUNA. 


263 


THE  SEVILLIAN  HOUSE 


265 


columns.     This  yeseria  is  not  carved  but  cast.     In  effective 
contrast  to  the  white  background  are  the  several  little  wall 


ai^ 


Fig.  85 — Portal  of  the  Colegiata,  Osuna. 

altars  decorated  in  green  and  gold.  Beyond  the  patio  is  the 
sacristy  with  a  good  wooden  ceiling,  and  from  this  point  on 
the  chapel  and  sepulchral  chambers  are  all  underground. 
The  same  diminutive  scale  characterizes  all,  the  coro  of  the 
chapel  having  only  nine  seats,  but  these  exquisitely  carved. 
There  is  a  wealth  of  sixteenth-century  ironwork  in  the  shape 
of  rejas  and  small  fittings  and  also  a  fine  display  of  azulejos. 


266     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

In  the  vaults  below  are  the  ancient  coffins,  nearly  all  of  black 
jasper,  the  epitaphs  in  archaic  lettering.  This  pantheon  has 
recently  been  commendably  restored. 

Interest  in  the  colegiata  centers  on  the  west  portal  (Fig. 
85).  The  work  would  seem  to  date  from  the  first  quarter 
of  the  century  but  the  use  of  the  crowning  pediment  advances 
it  into  its  proper  decade.  In  the  architrave  of  the  doorway 
and  the  base  of  the  pilasters  there  is  a  marked  resemblance  to 
Enrique  Egas's  Santa  Cruz  doorway  at  Toledo.  A  curious 
terra  cotta  relief  fills  the  tympanum  of  the  arch.  Much  of 
the  detail  is  very  beautiful,  recalling  the  Salamantine  school, 
a  comparison  further  borne  out  by  the  two  smaller  aisle  en- 
trances each  side  of  the  central.  These  have  the  abbreviated 
side  pilasters  supported  on  corbels,  also  the  stone  candelabra 
above  the  entablature  with  the  custodia  motif  between,  so 
freely  used  in  the  facade  of  San  Esteban  in  Salamanca. 


CHAPTER  IX 
GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE 

ATTITUDE  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CONQUERORS  TOWARDS  MOORISH  ART — 
IMPORTATION  OF  CASTILIAN  ARCHITECTS THE  ROYAL  CHAPEL  OR  MAU- 
SOLEUM   FOR    THE    CATHOLIC    SOVEREIGNS    THE    FIRST    UNDERTAKING ITS 

FURNISHINGS  ORDERED  BY  DON  ANTONIO  DE  FONSECA — THE  TOMB  OF 
FERDINAND   AND   ISABELLA    BY   DOMENICO   FANCELLI — THAT   OF   JOAN   AND 

PHILIP  THE  FAIR   BY   BARTOLOME   ORDONEZ THE   RETABLO   BY  FELIPE  DE 

VIGARNI — THE  REJA  BY  BARTOLOME  OF  JAEN — ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS  AND 
THE  NEW  CATHEDRAL — THE  COMMISSION  TRANSFERRED  TO  DIEGO  DE 
SILOE — HIS  MANNER  OF  ADAPTING  A  RENAISSANCE  PLAN  TO  EGAS's  GOTHIC 
FOUNDATIONS — SILOE's  DOME — HIS  CARVING  ON  THE  PUERTA  DE  PERDON 

AND  THE  PUERTA  DE  SAN  JERONIMO SILOE    AND    THE    CONVENT-CHURCH 

OF   SAN   JERONIMO — SILOE   AS   AN  ARCHITECTURAL   ORNAMENTALIST— THE 

CASA    CASTRIL — SILOE's     LONG    LIFE     IN     GRANADA HOSPITAL     REAL     BY 

ENRIQUE   DE   EGAS   AND   JUAN   GARCIA  DE    PRADAS 


268 


CHAPTER  IX 

GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE 

GRANADA,  capital  of  the  last  Moorish  kingdom  on 
Spanish  soil,  was  surrendered  to  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  on  January  2,  1492.  Here  was  a  curious 
circumstance,  a  modern  European  power  acquiring  possession 
of  a  completely  Asiatic  city  within  in  its  own  geographical 
domain — a  city  unique  in  artistic  aspect,  and  one  which  it 
would  have  been  the  part  of  wisdom  and  foresight  to  preserve 
if  possible.  But  the  Spaniards  who  conquered  Andalusia 
did  not  possess  that  sympathy  with  Arab  culture  which  Don 
Alfonso  VI  had  manifested  after  the  fall  of  Toledo  in  the 
eleventh  century.  In  the  late  fifteenth  the  stamping  out  of 
heresy  was  the  order  of  the  day  and  the  process  concerned 
itself  not  only  with  the  innermost  thoughts  of  the  infidel  but 
also  with  such  outward  and  visible  expressions  as  the  art  and 
literature  which  embodied  his  wrong-headedness.^  Granada 
mosques  were  immediately  altered  into  Christian  churches. 
Innumerable  new  churches  and  convents  were  erected,  to 
accommodate  which,  Moorish  buildings  were  swept  away. 
True,  Ferdinand  had  recommended  that  "so  noble  a  resi- 
dence as  the  Alhambra  be  respected"  but  his  grandson  soon 
sacrificed  a  portion  of  it  to  his  own  palace;  the  splendid  royal 
mosque  alongside,  in  which  had  been  celebrated  the  first  mass 

'  The  venerable  Archbishop  Talavera  and  the  Count  of  Tendilla,  to  whom  princi- 
pally the  government  of  Granada  was  confided,  sought  to  convert  the  Moors  who 
remained  by  more  or  less  gentle  suasion;  but  the  results  were  too  slow  to  satisfy  either 
the  race  hatred  of  the  mob  or  the  pious  zeal  of  the  drastic  primate,  Cardinal  Jimenez 
de  Cisneros.  He  in  1499  ordered  the  compulsory  baptism  of  the  Moors  (so  quaintly 
carved  on  the  retablo  of  the  Capilla  Real)  and  in  addition  burned  thousands  of  precious 
Arab  manuscripts. 

269 


270     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

after  the  surrender,  was  torn  down  and  replaced  by  an  ugly 
Herrera  structure  for  which  there  would  have  been  abundant 
space  elsewhere.  For  all  the  new  work  Castilian  architects 
were  called  in.  The  most  important  of  these,  Diego  de  Siloe, 
of  Burgos,  founded  a  distinct  Granadine  school  which  in  time 
crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  Jaen  and  Ubeda.  This  school 
was  in  no  way  affected  by  the  Arab  art  it  was  supplanting; 
nor  by  the  Italians  who  came  to  Granada.  In  domestic  work, 
however,  many  Mudejar  methods  still  persisted,  and  various 
convents  and  small  parish  churches  are  also  so  completely 
in  that  style  that  the  student  of  conventional  church  archi- 
tecture and  decoration  will  meet  many  surprises — wooden 
ceilings  richly  painted  and  whole  interiors  of  glowing  metallic 
azulejos. 

We  have  seen  In  the  chapter  on  Burgos  how  the  young 
artists  trained  there  soon  passed  to  more  active  building 
centers.  Granada  with  its  physiognomy  rapidly  European- 
izing  could  not  fail  to  attract  them.  Probably  most  of  them 
came  with  a  special  recommendation  from  Bishop  Fonseca 
whose  brother  Antonio,  one  of  Queen  Isabella's  executors, 
was  arranging  for  the  embellishing  of  the  Capilla  Real.  The 
Queen  had  ordered  this  chapel  to  be  built  as  her  mausoleum 
and  it  was  begun  soon  after  her  death  by  the  old  maestro 
mayor  of  Toledo  Cathedral,  Enrique  de  Egas.  It  adjoined 
the  chief  mosque  of  the  city,  which  had  been  selected  as  the 
cathedral  (and  which  was  replaced  in  the  eighteenth  century 
by  the  present  Sagrario).  The  Capilla  Real  is  a  fine  and 
dignified  piece  of  late  Gothic  finished  in  1517'  but  later  added 
to  by  Charles  who  found  it  "too  small  for  so  great  a  glory." 
By  the  time  Egas  had  his  structure  completed  the  new  style 

»  According  to  the  decorative  frieze  of  huge  Gothic  capitals,  silver  on  a  blue  ground, 
which  runs  around  the  interior: 

This  chapel  was  ordered  to  be  built  by  the  very  Catholic  Don  Fernando  and  Dona 
Isabel  king  and  queen  of  the  Spains  Naples  Sicily  Jerusalem  who  conquered  this  king- 
dom of  Granada  and  reduced  it  to  our  faith  and  built  and  endowed  the  churches  and 
monasteries  and  hospitals  of  it  and  gained  The  Canaries  and  The  Indies  and  the  cities, 
of  Oran  Tripoli  and  Bugia  and  destroyed  heresy  and  put  out  the  Moors  and  the  Jcwa 
from  these  kingdoms  and  reformed  religion  the  queen  finished  on  Tuesday  the  twentj'- 
sixth  of  November  of  the  year  1504  the  king  finished  on  Wednesday  the  twenty-third, 
of  January  of  the  year  1516  and  this  chapel  was  finished  in  the  year  151 7. 


PLATE  LIII 


TOMBS  AND  REJA  IX  THE  CAPILLA  REAL,  GRANADA. 


ill 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE     273 

was  well  under  way,  so  that  the  furnishings  ordered  for  it 
were  Plateresque.  They  consist  of  rejas,  retablo,  chancel,  and 
the  royal  tombs  themselves,  all  making  a  veritable  museum 
of  early  Renaissance  (Plate  LIII).     Of  these  the  two  tombs. 


Fig.  86— Detail  from  the  Tomb  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Granada. 
Domenico  Fancelli,  Sculptor,  iji/. 


even  were  they  less  beautiful,  would  claim  attention  first 
since  they  are  the  raiso7i  d'etre  of  the  structure.  The  finer  is 
that  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  by  the  Florentine  Domenico 
Fancelh  (Plate  LIV) ;  the  other,  of  their  daughter  Joan  and 
her  husband  Philip  (Doha  Juana  la  Loca  y  Don  Felipe  el 
Hermoso),  is  by  the   Spaniard   Bartolome  Ordonez.     It  was 


274     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

long  supposed  that  this  sculptor  was  the  author  of  the  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  tomb  because  his  Carrara  testament,  un- 
earthed by  the  Canon  Pietro  Andrei  (see  p.  169),  reads:  "I 
declare  that  I  am  leaving  finished  the  principal  part  of  the 
sepulcher  of  the  Catholic  King  and  Queen  of  Spain  and  that 
it  is  packed  in  its  corresponding  boxes  or  chests."  Now  it 
happens  that  the  title  of  "Catholic  Kings"  bestowed  upon 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  was  not  destined  to  extend  to  their 
successors;  Ordoiiez  however  appears  to  have  assumed  that 
it  would  do  so  and  in  that  wise  referred  to  Joan  and  Philip 
whose  tomb  he  was  engaged  on  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
Spanish  writers  continued  to  take  Ordonez  literally  until 
Professor  Justi  disagreed.  He  insisted  that  the  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  sarcophagus  was  Italian  and  the  work  of  the 
same  sculptor  who  had  made  that  of  their  son  in  Avila;  fur- 
thermore, that  the  Joan  and  Philip  tomb  so  long  anony- 
mous was  the  one  made  by  Ordonez  in  Carrara.'  As  this 
dissenter  could  offer  no  documentary  grounds  for  despoil- 
ing the  Spaniard  of  the  finer  tomb,  his  verdict  was  not 
accepted  by  the  Spanish  until  Don  Jose  Marti  y  Monso 
discovered  in  the  Archivo  Historico  Nacional  de  Madrid 
the  contract  between  the  executors  of  Cardinal  Jimenez 
and  the  Italian  sculptor,  which  document,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  extracts,  settled  the  Granada  matter 
definitively. 

The  conditions  by  which  are  to  be  made  the  sarcophagus  and 
effigy  of  the  Most  Reverend  Cardinal  Fran''°  Ximenes  de  Cisneros 
may  he  be  in  glory  are  the  following: 

First  the  sarcophagus  and  effigy  and  figures  are  to  be  of  Carrara 
marble  and  said  marble  is  to  be  as  good  as  that  of  the  sepulchre  of 
Prince  Don  Juan  who  now  has  holy  glory  which  is  in  Sancto  Tomas 
of  Abila  and  the  same  as  are  the  effigies  of  the  King  and  Queen 
which  are  in  Granada  and  certainly  better  if  it  were  possible  and 
not  worse;  and  said  marble  is  to  be  white  [here  follow  measure- 
ments, etc.]  and  the  base  is  to  be  well  carved  and  its  mouldings  are 

'  Estudios  sobre  el  Renacimiento  en  Espana,  por  Carlos  Justi,  traducidos  por  Don 
Francisco  Suarez  Bravo,  Barcelona,  1892. 


275 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE     277 

to  be  in  the  antique  style  .  .  .  and  in  each  corner  a  griffin  very 
triumphant  adorned  with  its  wings  and  with  foliage  .  .  .  and  the 
epitaph  .  .  .  is  to  be  lettered  in  the  antique  style  with  a  compass 
as  such  letters  are  made  .  .  .  and  the  effigy  all  in  one  piece  .  .  . 
all  to  be  well  carved  as  already  said  and  as  good  as  that  of  the 
Prince  and  the  King  and  Queen  may  they  have  holy  glory  and  more 
polished  if  possible  and  all  to  show  the  experience  gained  by  the 
master  since  he  made  the  aforesaid  effigies  who  is  the  one  who  is  to 
make  this  tomb. 

The  Very  Noble  and  Magnificent  Seiiores  Fray  F'^^  Ruiz  Bishop 
of  Avila  and  Don  F"^"^  de  Mendoza  and  the  Reverend  Seiior  Doctor 
Miguel  Carrasco  Rector  of  the  College  and  University  of  Alcala  de 
Henares  executors  of  the  Most  Illustrious  and  Most  Reverend  Don 
Francisco  Ximenes  de  Cisneros  Cardinal  of  Spain  Archbishop  of 
Toledo  who  is  in  glory  agree  on  the  aforesaid  work  with  Micer 
Domenico  de  Alejandre  Florentin  for  the  price  of,  etc.,  etc. 

Comparing  Domenico's  Avila  and  Granada  productions 
one  sees  that  the  latter  has  lost  the  abstract  decorativeness  of 
the  former  and  has  become  more  personal,  more  Spanish;  this 
not  merely  because  of  the  ostentation  of  the  national  emblems, 
but  because  the  quality  of  the  sculpture  throughout  is  now 
assertive  and  realistic.  Fancelli  was  drifting  into  the  Spanish 
vein  and  had  he  lived  to  serve  the  great  ones  of  the  land 
longer,  would  undoubtedly  have  become  markedly  Spaniol- 
ized.  The  smaller  figures  are  in  three-quarter  relief;  corner 
griffins  have  all  the  robustness  of  the  antique;  and  the  effigy 
of  Ferdinand  is  a  piece  of  searching  portraiture;  yet  despite 
the  intense  interest  infused  into  the  detail  it  is  always  prop- 
erly subservient  to  the  mass.  The  whole  tomb  is  less  ex- 
quisite than  Don  Juan's,  with  less  of  beauty  for  beauty's 
sake,  but  it  has  other  qualities  in  full  measure. 

The  extent  to  which  the  Spaniard  Ordofiez  was  influenced 
by  Fancelli  is  not  surprising  considering  that  he  had  previ- 
ously executed  the  latter's  design  for  the  Cisneros  tomb,  and 
that  furthermore  he  may  have  been  instructed  to  make  a 
companion  piece  to  the  already  completed  Catholic  Kings* 
monument.  Especially  in  the  detail  is  the  likeness  striking 
(see   Fig.   87),   Ordofiez's   being  even   finer  in   certain   parts; 


278     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 


but  in  the  composition,  where  he  had  to  fall  back  on  his  own 
resources  in  order  not  to  be  too  imitative,  he  is  distinctly 
inferior.  After  constructing  a  base  of  identical  proportions 
with  the  other  (though  less  reposeful  in  contour)  he  added  a 


Fig.  87 — Detail  from  the  Tomb  of  Dona  Juana  and  Don  Felipe,  Granada. 
Bartolome  Ordonez,  1520. 

secondary  base  above  it  for  the  recumbent  figures.  This 
stands  high  out  of  the  lower  mass  and  breaks  the  outline  un- 
pleasantly; and  while  to  Charles  V  the  exalting  of  his  parents 
may  have  been  flattering,  to  our  modern  sense  of  fitness  it  is 
disturbing  to  find  the  greater  monarchs  lying  low  beside  their 
undistinguished  successors.  Ordonez  had  to  leave  this  com- 
mission unfinished  and  it  may  consequently  represent  some 


POLYCHROME  WOODEN  RETABLO  IN  THE  CAPILLA  REAL,  GRANADA. 
Felipe  Vigarni,  Sculptor. 


279 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE      281 

divergence  (though  it  would  be  only  slight)  from  his  design'; 
nevertheless,  all  considered,  he  was  hardly  as  great  a  sculptor 
as  the  splendor  of  his  patrons  would  warrant  one  to  expect. 
Excellent  as  an  artizan  he  lacked  the  distinct  personality  that 
marked  some  of  the  lesser  known  Spanish  sculptors.  He  was, 
as  mentioned,  a  Burgalese.  He  appears  to  have  left  Burgos 
early  for  Italy  where  he  remained  several  years.  In  151 8 
he  returned  to  Spain  and  established  a  botega  in  Barcelona  on 
the  plan  of  the  Genoese.  From  the  cathedral  chapter  he 
promptly  secured  an  order  to  decorate  the  exterior  of  the  coro 
with  scenes  from  the  life  of  Santa  Eulalia.  When  in  15 18  the 
Cisneros  commission  was  transferred  to  him  he  repaired  to 
Carrara,  although  the  Emperor  had  to  intervene  before  the 
canons  would  consent  to  his  abandoning  the  Santa  Eulalia 
scenes.  The  few  panels  he  had  completed  are  much  praised 
but  are  in  reality  a  perfunctory  and  academic  piece  of  work 
in  which  the  artist  had  not  yet  found  himself.  His  career 
did  not  really  begin  until  he  went  to  Carrara,  and  it  was 
destined  to  be  very  brief  for  in  less  than  two  years  death 
overtook  him  (1520)  and  his  work  had  to  be  completed  by 
various  Italian  marmorari  and  shipped  to  Spain.  The 
royal  tomb  arrived  in  Granada  about  1526  and  as  Doiia  Juana 
was  still  living  it  was  stored  in  the  Hospital  Real  where  it 
lay  forgotten  until  long  after  her  death. 

The  polychrome  wooden  retablo  of  the  chapel  (Plate  LV) 
is  by  Felipe  de  Borgona  (also  known  as  Viguerny,  Vigarni,  and 
Vigarin)  and  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  period.  To 
be  sure,  the  Burgundian's  sculpture  varies  little  from  that  of 
the  Gothicists  but  his  architectural  frame  shows  an  advanced 
knowledge  of  composition  and  detail.  Polychrome  is  limited 
to  the  statuary,  the  frame  being  treated  in  white  and  gold. 
This  combination  of  white  and  gold  is  repeated  in  the  marble 
chancel,  the  work  of  an  Italian.  Another  important,  and 
according  to  many  the  greatest,  work  of  art  to  be  examined 

'  In  the  inventory  of  works  left  unfinished  in  Ordonez's  Carrara  atelier  at  the  time 
of  his  death  it  is  specified  that  there  remained  to  be  made  for  the  royal  tomb  "diversi 
pezzi  del  basamento,  il  deposito,  e  due  angoli  con  due  figuri  de  San  Michele  e  di  San 
Giovanni  Ev'»"  Several  of  the  Fonseca  tombs  for  Coca  also  occur  in  the  list  of  incom- 
plete works. 


282     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

here  is  the  reja  which  divides  the  transept  from  the  nave. 
While  there  is  much  about  it  that  is  Gothic  both  in  design  and 
technique,  the  embossed  pilasters  and  horizontal  bands  are 
exquisite  bits  of  Renaissance  design.  Particularly  interesting 
as  a  translation  into  Renaissance  language  is  the  painted  and 
gilded  panel  above  the  gates  containing  the  arms  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  and  their  grandson.  The  cresting  contains 
some  thirty  figures  more  than  half  life  sized  and  marvelously 
forged.  The  reja  was  made  in  1523  and  is  signed  by  Maestre 
Bartolome.  This  rejero  did  a  quantity  of  work  in  Jaen  and 
Ubeda  (see  p.  328). 

Hardly  had  the  Capilla  Real  been  started  when  the  canons 
began  to  feel  that  the  mosque  adjoining  it  was  inadequate  for 
the  greatness  that  had  been  thrust  upon  it,  so  Egas  was  asked 
to  make  plans  for  a  new  cathedral.  The  bishop  had  to  keep 
nagging  at  the  crown  for  many  years  before  the  corner-stone 
was  actually  laid.  This  was  in  1523  and  immediately  after 
came  the  plague;  so  that  by  1528  when  Egas  was  given  conge ^ 
by  the  chapter  little  more  than  the  foundations  had  been  built. 
When  work  was  resumed  it  was  under  the  direction  of  the 
young  Diego  de  Siloe  who  was  erecting  the  Plateresque  convent- 
church  of  San  Jeronimo  at  the  time.  Siloe  proceeded  in  the 
new  style.  Granada  thus  claims  the  earliest  cathedral  in 
Renaissance,  and  built,  at  that,  on  Gothic  foundations,  for 
Egas  had  been  closely  following  Toledo  Cathedral  as  is  evident 
in  the  plan  (Fig.  88). 

Considering  that  Siloe  agreed  to  conform  to  the  portions 
already  built  the  resemblance  between  Granada  and  Toledo 

'  No  writer  appears  to  know  why  Egas  was  dismissed  but  his  path  in  Granada  had 
never  been  a  smooth  one.  He  had  several  disagreements  with  the  Majordomo  of  the 
Royal  Works  concerning  the  Royal  Chapel,  the  Cathedral  and  the  Royal  Hospital. 
IMoreover  as  he  had  been  only  three  times  to  Granada  during  these  five  years  the 
chapter  may  have  preferred  a  more  attentive  architect.  His  last  visit  was  early  in 
1528  according  to  the  cathedral  archivo  of  April  2d  of  that  year:  "To  Master  Enrique 
for  twenty-five  days  consumed  in  coming  from  Toledo  remaining  in  Granada  and  re- 
turning to  Toledo  at  five  hundred  maravedises  each  day  which  make  twelve  thousand 
five  hvmdred  mrs.  and  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  for  certain  samples  and  tracings 
which  he  made  for  said  church."  A  few  days  later  the  painter  Pedro  Vasquez  was 
summoned  to  examine  the  foundations;  whether  he  influenced  the  chapter  against 
Gothic  and  towards  Renaissance  is  not  known  but  certain  it  is  that  the  work  was  sus- 
pended shortly  after. 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE      283 

Cathedrals  is  natural.  Both  have  a  nave  and  double  aisles 
with  a  ribbon  of  chapels  between  the  outer  piers,  and  both 
are  characterized  by  a  semi-circular  ambulatory;  but  while  the 
ambulatory  of  the  Castilian  church  is  double-aisled  that  of 


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Fig.  88 — Plan  of  Granada  Cathedral. 
Enrique  de  Egas  and  Diego  de  Siloe,  Architects,  152J  et  seq. 

the  Andalusian  is  single,  with  the  inner  aisle  space  given  over 
to  the  radiating  piers  of  the  dome.  A  secondary  circulation 
is  nevertheless  provided  by  means  of  openings  in  the  piers. 
What  Siloe  did  was  to  expand  the  semi-decagon  of  the  Toledo 


284     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

capilla  mayor  into  a  full  decagon  in  order  to  support  his  dome. 
To  demonstrate  how  this  could  be  done  he  started  various 
French  and  Spanish  carvers  to  work  on  a  model  of  his  project. 
This  had  been  under  way  for  nearly  three  years  when  the 
Emperor  heard  of  the  scheme  and  commanded  that  the  cathe- 
dral should  not  be  built  a  lo  romano  as  that  style  would  be  out 
of  harmony  with  the  Gothic  Royal  Chapel.  The  chapter  there- 
upon sent  Siloe  to  court  "to  reply  to  His  Majesty  and  defend 
his  work  and  intention."  From  this  errand  the  architect 
came  back  triumphant  and  the  building  proceeded  rapidly; 
not  to  be  finished  by  him  however,  for  the  Gothic  vaults  were 
not  closed  in  until  after  1700. 

Given  the  peculiar  circumstances  it  is  to  be  expected  that 
the  Granada  Cathedral  should  be  different  from  the  basilica 
type  in  Italy  and  from  subsequent  examples  in  Spain  where 
the  dome  marks  the  crossing.  Imposed  on  a  circular  capilla 
mayor  and  its  contiguous  ambulatory  it  is  admirably  worked 
out,  but  naturally  it  has  lost  the  logical  simplicity  of  the  dome 
over  the  crossing.  Nevertheless,  the  successful  manner  in 
which  this  feature  was  tied  into  a  plan  to  which  it  was  utterly 
foreign  caused  Fergusson  to  say  in  his  History  of  Architecture 
that  "the  cathedral  of  Granada,  is,  in  respect  to  its  plan,  one 
of  the  finest  churches  in  Europe."  The  dome,  which  is  155 
feet  high,  is  supported  on  two  superposed  Corinthian  orders 
but  the  effectiveness  of  the  treatment  is  unfortunately 
marred  by  seventeenth-century  decorations.  Many  perplex- 
ing problems  naturally  developed,  such  as  carrying  the  spring 
of  the  dome  over  the  nave  opening  and  managing  the  radial 
piers  and  openings.  In  solving  such  problems  Siloe  displayed 
rare  skill  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  classic  principles.  In 
the  former  instance  he  ingeniously  created  a  proscenium  arch 
with  so  broad  a  soffit  that  the  amount  eaten  into  it  does  not, 
so  far  as  the  eye  is  concerned,  materially  weaken  it.  In  the 
second  instance  where  the  radial  arches  had  to  conform  to 
the  treatment  of  the  capilla  mayor  on  the  inner  side  and  to 
the  vaulting  arches  of  the  ambulatory  on  the  outer,  he  has  been 
not  merely  skillful  but  has  secured  an  impressiveness  hardly 
less  than  classic  (Fig.  89).     Perhaps  the  only  criticism  admis- 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE     285 

sible  is  his  manner  of  vaulting  the  ambulatory  and  his  placing 
of  the  receiving  columns.  Here  was  a  difficulty  which  had 
long  beset  Gothic  architects.  Two  practical  solutions  were 
thrown  over  for  a  compromise;  the  columns  could  have  been 


Fig.  89 — Ambulatory  Arch  in  Granada  Cathedral. 
Diego de  Siloe,  Architect,  ij2^-6j. 

so  placed  that  the  transverse  arches  were  radial  to  the  dome 
center,  or  the  main  panels  opposite  the  openings  could  have 
been  parallelograms  and  the  intervening  ones  triangles.  This 
latter  was  the  method  followed  in  the  Gothic  vaulting  of  the 
ambulatory  at  Toledo  but  had  Siloe  used  it  his  triangles  would 
necessarily  have  been  truncated  (see  plan,  Fig.  88). 

The  main  body  of  the  church  (Plate  LVI)  is  dignified  in 
the  ensemble  but  disappointing  in  detail,  most  especially  in 
the  decadent  Gothic  vaulting.     For  this  Siloe  is  not  responsible 


286     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

for  the  building  dragged  on  into  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is 
probable  that  his  design  for  the  nave  piers  was  followed,  how- 
ever, and  while  they  are  wholly  classic  and  most  impressive, 
they  lack  certain  niceties;   the  pier  entablature  supporting 


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iTTf 

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Fig.  90 — Exterior  of  Granada  Cathedral. 
Diego  de  Siloe,  Architect,  Jj2^-6j. 

the  arches,  for  instance,  a  feature  which  both  classic  and  Re- 
naissance architects  in  Italy  gradually  diminished  and  finally 
eliminated,  is  here  overpoweringly  heavy.  Aside  from  this 
the  great  Corinthian  piers  are  noble  enough.  They  are  com- 
posed of  four  half-columns  with  three  minor  breaks  at  the 
corners.  The  high  pedestal  with  semicircular  faces  following 
the  section  of  the  shaft  carries  down  the  lines  with  true  Gothic 
solidity.  This  pier  is  far  superior  to  that  of  the  cathedral  of 
Malaga  designed  by  the  same  architect  and  where  the  pillars 
are  two  orders  in  height. 

Exteriorly  Granada  Cathedral  presents  a  heterogeneous 
aspect  due  to  the  long  duration  of  its  building  and  the  num- 
ber of  artists  employed.  Siloe  is  directly  responsible  for  the 
ambulatory  and  dome,  for  the  Puerta  del  Perdon,  and,  along 
with  Maeda,  the  Puerta  de  San  Jeronimo.  As  seen  from  the 
narrow  surrounding  cailes  the  mighty  dome  plays  a  rather  in- 
conspicuous part  as  is  apparent  in  Fig.  90.  Siloe's  hand  is 
evident  up  to  the  actual  tiled  roof  from  which  point  all  archi- 
tecturality  ceases.      While   not   conforming  to  or  expressing 


PLATE  LVI 


INTERIOR  OF  GRANADA  CATHEDRAL. 
Diego  de  Siloe,  Architect,  1525-6^. 


iS't 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE     289 

the  interior  it  is  nevertheless  admirable  in  its  substantiality 
and  interesting  in  the  disposition  and  design  of  its  buttresses; 
a  similar  arrangement  can  be  better  studied  in  the  church  of 
San  Jeronimo.  In  the  carving  of  the  two  portals  mentioned, 
over  which  Siloe's  countrymen  wax  most  enthusiastic,  the 
stranger  is  apt  to  experience  some  disappointment.  The 
architectural  forms  are  none  too  good  to  begin  with  and  are 
moreover  reduced  to  insipidity  by  a  profuse  amount  of 
meaningless  detail.  All  the  ornament  is  characterized  by  a 
disturbing  disparity  in  scale.  It  is  improbable  that  Siloe  did 
much  of  the  actual  cutting  here;  but  the  design,  which  really 
was  his,  has  lost  the  decorative  and  spontaneous  quality  to  be 
seen  in  his  early  escalera  dorada  in  Burgos  Cathedral. 

Diego  de  Siloe  may  be  further  examined  in  various  edifices 
in  the  city  (though  in  by  no  means  all  that  are  ascribed  to 
him  and  for  which  his  pupils  are  largely  responsible).  His 
best  known  work  is  that  on  which  he  was  engaged  when  called 
to  the  cathedral,  San  Jeronimo.  Here  again  he  was  not  the 
architect  from  the  beginning.  Jacopo  the  Florentine,  of 
Murcia  fame,  is  known  to  have  worked  here,  and  the  cloisters 
of  the  monastery  and  the  foundations  of  the  church  were  well 
started  when  Siloe  intervened.  Shortage  of  funds  had  been 
holding  back  the  building  until  the  widow  of  Gonsalvo  de 
Cordova,  El  Gran  Capitan,  offered  to  pay  for  its  completion 
if  the  Emperor  would  assign  its  capilla  mayor  as  the  mauso- 
leum for  her  distinguished  husband.  It  was  then,  1525,  that 
Siloe  was  called  in  and  at  once  started  on  the  capilla  mayor 
and  transept.  From  the  exterior  these  form  the  only  note 
of  interest  and  while  presenting  nothing  new  structurally, 
the  buttresses,  the  bald  square  end  of  the  transept,  and  the 
crucero,  build  up  into  a  very  impressive  ensemble  (Fig.  91). 
What  small  merit  the  interior  ever  had  has  been  submerged 
under  ugly  eighteenth-century  decorations.  In  the  small 
western,  or  coro,  gallery  (now  closed  because  of  threatened 
collapse)  is  a  fine  but  by  no  means  incomparable  silleria  carved 
by  Siloe;  and  in  the  adjoining  monastery,  now  a  cavalry 
barracks,  are  several  doorways.  Only  one  of  them — the 
entrance  to  the  tower — is  good.  The  panels  of  its  splayed 
19 


290     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

sides  are  filled  with  typical  Siloe  arabesques,  but  in  the  reveal 
of  the  arch  above  are  some  excellent  busts.  The  remaining 
doors  attributed  to  him  are  difficult  to  appreciate  owing  to 
repeated   and   heavy  coats   of  paint;   but   it   is   immediately 


Fig.  91 — Cimborio  of  the  Convent  of  San  Jeronimo,  Granada. 
Diego  de  Siloe,  Architect. 

evident  that  they  are  as  mannered  in  their  way  as  are  the 
Francisco  de  Colonia  portals  in  the  Burgos  region.  Always 
the  same  archway  flanked  by  pilasters,  the  same  ornamental 
frieze,  and  over  the  cornice  the  same  flattened  motif  consisting 
of  a  medallion  head  in  the  center  supported  by  scrolls  and 
terminated  by  winged  griffins.  This  disposition  may  be 
seen  in  innumerable  doors  and  windows  throughout  the  city, 
faithfully  adhered  to  by  all  Siloe's  disciples.  On  the  whole, 
Diego  de  Siloe,  son  of  one  of  the  greatest  Gothic  sculptors 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE      291 

of  Spain,  is  not  the  accomplished  ornamentaHst  his  compatri- 
ots claim/  His  sculpture  never  attains  that  vitality  which 
one  grows  to  demand  of  Spanish  work.  Technique  aside, 
sculpture  when  it  adorns  a  building  ought  to  be  as  carefully 


Fig.  92 — Entrance  to  the  Casa  Castril,  Granada. 
Attributed  to  Diego  de  Siloe. 


proportioned  as  any  other  architectural  embellishment,  and 
here  again  Siloe  is  at  fault  as  witness  the  incongruous  group- 
ing in  his  Puerta  del  Perdon.  For  his  successful  imposing  of 
the  noble  Renaissance  dome  on  the  Gothic  plan  of  the  cathe- 
dral, however,  he  is  entitled  to  rank  with  the  masters  of  the 

'  Not  his  countrymen  only,  for  Professor  Justi,  usually  so  reserv'ed  in  his  apprecia- 
tions, says:  "The  worthiest  and  most  imaginative  development  of  the  style  [Grotesque] 
is  shown  in  the  works  of  Diego  de  Siloe  on  the  north  side  of  the  cathedral  at  Granada 
which  are  characterized  by  an  inexhaustible  fancy,  a  rhythmical  stream  of  movement, 
a  unity  of  general  effect  combined  with  a  constant  flux  of  motives,  and  ebullient  vitality." 


292     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

century;  but  in  the  rest  of  his  Granada  work,  for  he  was  kept 
busy  erecting  dweUings  for  Spaniards  who  had  received  emolu- 
ments under  the  new  regime,  he  was  merely  a  high  class  com- 
mercial architect,  of  precisely  that  type  which  would  attract 
a  large  following.  No  one  can  question  this  statement  after 
examining  such  specimens  of  his  work  as  the  Casa  Castril. 
The  house  at  Number  1 1  Cuchilleros  is  also  accredited  to  him 
but  is  not  at  all  characteristic.  The  first  mentioned,  which 
is  very  extensive  inside,  has  only  a  small  facade  and  this  covered 
with  ornament  (Fig.  92).  The  chief  motifs  are  the  doorway 
and  the  corner  window  of  the  second  story.  All  the  detail  is 
coarse  and  presents  that  same  lack  of  scale  noticeable  in  the 
Puerta  del  Perdon.  Siloe  by  no  means  dropped  out  of  Castilian 
affairs  after  coming  to  Granada  for  he  is  known  to  have  entered 
several  competitions  along  with  Covarrubias,  Vigarni,  and 
others  working  in  Toledo.  His  repute  was  high  throughout 
Andalusia  where  he  was  called  upon  to  design  the  cathedral  of 
Malaga  and  was  appointed  visiting  architect  to  Seville  Ca- 
thedral at  eighty  ducats  for  an  annual  visit  of  fifteen  consecu- 
tive days.  He  died  in  his  Granada  house  (still  preserved) 
in  1563  "very  rich,  owning  houses,  slaves,  jewels,  silver  and 
precious  stones,  which  went  to  the  Hospital  de  San  Juan  de 
Dios  and  other  religious  institutions,  not  omitting  the  cathedral 
of  his  native  city  Burgos." 

The  remaining  Plateresque  monument  of  importance  in 
Granada  is  the  Hospital  Real  de  Dementes,  a  combined 
insane  and  infant  asylum  which  Enrique  de  Egas  began  in 
15 1 1.  It  had  been  commissioned  long  before  and  the  follow- 
ing quaint  inscription  in  one  of  the  patios  gives  an  idea  of  its 
slow  progress:  ^'Fernando  y  Isabel  los  Reyes  Catolicos  ordered 
the  building  of  this  house  from  the  foundations  up  although 
their  death  prevented  them  from  arriving  at  the  roof  but 
Carlos  Quinto  el  Emperador  Invincible  y  Rey  de  todas  las  Es' 
paiias  their  grandson  ordered  that  the  work  should  be  continued 
and  this  part  was  finished  in  the  year  of  Our  Lord  1536  in 
the  which  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord  the  Emperor  took  by  force 
the  city  and  kingdom  of  Tunis  and  punished  the  violence 
and  piracy  of  the  Africans.'*     The  fact  is  that  Egas  had  com- 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE      293 

pleted  only  the  first  story  when  Ferdinand's  death  (15 16) 
put  a  stop  to  the  work.  When  the  "Invincible  Emperor" 
resumed  it  another  architect  was  appointed.  Juan  Garcia 
de  Pradas,  Egas's  successor,  also  built  the  Gothic  southeast 


Fig.  93 — Portal  to  the  Capilla  Real,  Granada. 
Juan  Garcia  de  Pradas,  Architect,  ca.  1520. 

portal  of  the  Capilla  Real  (Fig.  93)  and  the  charming  little 
Lonja  alongside  of  it  (Fig.  94).  On  the  hospital  he  appears 
to  have  made  some  attempt  to  work  in  Egas's  style,  hence  the 
four  Lombard  windows  of  the  second  story;  but  some  claim 
that  these  are  due  to  Juan  Garcia's  having  worked  at  La- 
calahorra  rather  than  to  his  having  followed  Enrique's  original 
drawings.  The  marble  entrance  is  a  perfunctory  piece  of 
seventeenth-century  work  and  it  is  this  lack  of  a  portal  com- 
parable either  to  the  Toledo  or  Santiago  hospital  that  most 


294     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

dissociates  the  facade  from  the  first  Renaissance  architect. 
Inside,  one  is  immediately  aware  of  him  in  the  long  perspective 
of  the  north  and  south  arms  of  the  cross  which  now  serve  as  a 
vast  hall  leading  to  modern  buildings  at  the  rear.     The  east 


Fig.  94 — The  Lonja,  Granada. 
Juan  Garcia  de  Pradas,  Architect,  1518-22. 


and  west  arms  have  been  recently  walled  up  and  are  used  as 
a  refectory  and  a  school,  for  the  building  at  present  holds 
some  nine  hundred  inmates.  Such  use,  with  the  exception 
of  the  walling  up,  may  be  no  great  departure  from  the  original 
intention  for  these  arms  were  provided  from  the  beginning 
with  windows  on  both  front  and  rear  patios,  whereas  the 
great  circulating  north  and  south  hall  has  none.  The  crossing 
is  covered  with  ribbed  vaulting  over  the  first  story  but  on  the 
second  is  left  open  to  the  lofty  cupola.  Here  it  was  formerly 
that  the  altar  was  placed; — not  an  enclosed  chapel  but  a 
free-standing  altar  with  the  arms  of  the  cross  left  open  so  that 
the   sick  might  hear  mass  from   all   sides.     The  magnificent 


GRANADA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  DIEGO  DE  SILOE      295 

artesonados  of  the  arms,  all  left  undecorated,  were  made  by 
the  maestro  carpintero  Juan  de  Plasencla.  Of  the  four  patios 
the  two  on  the  east  or  right  side  of  the  building  are  bare  of  all 
treatment,  but  were  to  have  been  provided  with  arcaded  walks; 
that  on  the  west  front  was  the  finest  of  all  but  only  the 
marble  columns,  arches,  and  frieze  were  ever  completed. 
There  is  more  knowledge  of  Renaissance  principles  displayed 
here  than  in  Egas's  earlier  patios  but  the  detail  is  so  poor  and 
spiritless  that  one  apprehends  at  a  glance  that  the  fertile  and 
capricious  maestro  gave  it  but  little  of  his  personal  attention. 
The  patio  to  the  rear  of  this,  and  the  only  one  finished,  is 
even  poorer;  according  to  the  date  in  the  inscription  already 
quoted,  it  was  decorated  long  after  Egas  had  ceased  to  direct 
the  work  and  there  is  nothing  about  it  that  even  suggests  his 
designing.  It  seems,  then,  that  so  far  as  he  was  concerned 
there  is  little  more  than  the  cruciform  plan  of  the  Granada 
hospital  to  be  considered. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  AND  PROVINCIAL  WORK 

PEDRO  DE  MACHUCA  RECOMMENDED  TO  THE  EMPEROR — CLASSIC  PLAN 
OF  THE  PALACE  AND  ITS  AWKWARD  ADJUSTMENT  TO  DOMESTIC  NEEDS — 
VARIOUS  INTERRUPTIONS  TO  THE  WORK — THE  SOUTHERN  OR  SECONDARY 
PORTAL  BY  MACHUCA — THE  WESTERN  OR  PRINCIPAL  ENTRANCE  BY  HIS 
SON — THE  CIRCULAR  PATIO — DOMESTIC  WORK  IN  GRANADA — TWO  KINDS  OF 
WOODEN    CEILINGS — CEILING    IN    THE    EMPEROR's     APARTMENTS    IN  THE 

ALHAMBRA TILED  STAIRCASES PEBBLE  MOSAICS THE  MENDOZA  CASTLE 

AT    LACALAHORRA — ITS    STAIRCASE    AS    A    POSSIBLE    INSPIRATION    TO   EN- 
RIQUE DE  EGAS JAEN  AND  THE  WORK  OF  ANDRES  VANDELVIRA — VANDEL- 

VIRA's   CHURCH   OF   SAN    SALVADOR   IN   UBEDA SILLERIA   IN   THE   CHURCH 

OF    SANTA    MARIA — PALACES    IN    UBEDA — THE    AYUNTAMIENTO    OR    CITY 
HALL  OF  BAEZA— THE  BENAVENTE  PALACE 


296 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  AND  PROVINCIAL  WORK 

PEDRO  MACHUCA  was  the  architect  chosen  when 
Charles  V  decided  to  build  within  the  precincts  of 
the  Alhambra.  Two  men  more  opposite  than  the 
popular  Siloe  down  in  the  town  and  the  reserved  Machuca 
who  lived  and  worked  up  on  the  hill  could  hardly  be  imagined. 
Machuca  was  architect,  painter,  and  sculptor,  and  had  studied 
in  Italy  "beside  the  divine  Rafael  da  Urbino  and  was  the 
first  to  bring  to  Spain  the  maxims  of  the  Renaissance  in  all 
their  classic  purity"  according  to  the  authoritative  Grana- 
dino  Don  Manuel  Gomez  Moreno.  No  one  gives  Machuca's 
birthplace  but  from  1524  he  was  residing  in  Granada  and 
carving  retablos.  The  Conde  de  Tendilla,  for  whom  he  was 
standard-bearer,  recommended  him  to  the  Emperor,  and 
although  the  young  man  appears  to  have  had  no  previous 
architectural  experience,  he  Was  immediately  accepted  and 
instructed  to  plan  a  Renaissance  palace  to  be  erected  ad- 
jacent to  the  Moorish.  (In  this  connection  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  Charles,  although  enamored  of  Italian  art 
and  a  lavish  patron  of  Titian,  never  once  harbored  the  thought 
of  bringing  an  Italian  architect  to  Spain.) 

The  cost  of  the  new  structure  was  to  be  defrayed  by  the 
Moriscos  (baptized  Moors)  in  return  for  royal  permission  to 
retain  their  turbans.  To  accommodate  the  project  a  por- 
tion of  the  Alhambra  was  destroyed,  if  not  by  the  Emperor's 
command,  at  least  with  his  consent.  Charles  Is  reported  to 
have  rebuked  the  cathedral  chapter  of  Cordova,  only  a  short 
time  before,  for  erecting  a  Plateresque  coro  in  the  center  of 
their  thousand-pillared  mosque.     "You  have  built  what  you 

297 


298     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

or  others  might  have  built  anywhere,"  he  told  them,  *'but 
you  have  destroyed  something  that  was  unique  in  the  world.'* 
Yet  in  this  same  year  he  altered  the  Alcazar  of  Seville  (in 
which  he  was  married  to  Isabella  of  Portugal)  and  removed  a 
part  of  the  Alhambra.  The  Arab  and  the  Renaissance  shoul- 
der each  other  in  most  incongruous  fashion,  and  though  the 
latter  is  a  splendid  piece  of  architecture  it  can  never  appear 
otherwise  than  as  an  intruder  within  the  precincts  of  the 
acropolis.  However,  some  justify  its  royal  builder  by  stating 
that  he  erected  the  new  palace  in  order  to  save  the  old  from 
the  modifications  necessary  to  convert  it  into  a  European 
residence. 

The  royal  palace  was  never  completed.  Pedro  Machuca 
died  in  1550  leaving  It  in  the  hands  of  his  able  son  Luis;  but  the 
annual  tribute  money  which  had  kept  it  going  ceased  when 
the  Moriscos  rebelled  in  1568,  and  from  then  on  the  work 
was  taken  up  only  in  desultory  fashion  and  by  less  skillful 
architects.  After  the  completion  of  the  magnificent  colon- 
naded patio  in  Philip  Ill's  reign  (1616)  building  operations 
practically  stopped.  It  is  said  that  the  wealthy  Due  de 
Montpensier,  before  fixing  upon  Seville  as  his  residence  in 
the  last  century,  offered  to  buy  and  complete  the  royal  palace 
of  Granada.  The  fact  that  his  offer  was  declined  is  still 
regretted  by  the  Granadinos  since  their  city  lost  thereby  the 
immense  fortune  spent  in,  and  bequeathed  to,  the  rival  Anda- 
lusian  capital.  From  the  artistic  point  of  view,  however, 
there  is  nothing  to  lament  in  the  fact  that  the  palace  has 
remained  in  impoverished  hands,  for  it  is  vastly  more  impres- 
sive unfinished.  It  is  primarily  a  monument.  The  composi- 
tion of  the  plan  (Fig.  95),  particularly  of  the  circular  patio, 
is  based  on  Roman  traditions;  and  while  the  scheme  is  of 
noble  simplicity,  the  elements  that  build  up  a  fine  amphi- 
theater are  ill-suited  for  domestic  architecture.  It  was  in 
Machuca's  efforts  to  harmonize  the  two  that  certain  weak- 
nesses developed  in  his  design;  such  are  the  corner  staircases 
with  their  cramped  approaches,  and  the  medieval  chapel 
tower  so  Inharmonious  and  out  of  scale.  Furthermore  he 
appears  to  have  been  embarrassed  to  accommodate  Interior 


PLATE  LVII 


SOUTH  PORTAL  OF  CHARLES  V'S  PALACE  ON  THE  ALHAMBRA  HILL, 

GRANADA. 

Pedro  Machuca,  Architect,  IJ26  ct  seq. 


299 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA 


301 


walls  to  fenestration ;  many  of  them  butt  square  against  window 
openings,  and  apparently  there  was  no  intention  of  concealing 
this  clumsiness  by  blind  openings;  some  more  superficial  trick 


J*L 


lOO 


Fig.  95 — Plan  of  the  Palace  of  Charles  V  at  Granada. 
Pedro  Machuca,  Architect,  1526. 

was  to  be  resorted  to.     In  short  the  palace,  though  admirably 
bold  in  idea,  lacks  nicety  and  finesse  of  plan. 

Yellowish  sandstone  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  supplied 
the  material  for  the  fa9ade,  along  with  marble  from  the  Sierra 
de  Elvira  for  the  portals  and  patio  columns.  The  scheme  is 
a  two-storied  quadrangle  207  feet  square,  enclosing  a  circular 
court.  The  exterior  is  a  combining  of  classic  and  Renaissance 
styles,   the  former  found  in  the  two  principal  portals,  the 


302     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

latter  in  the  Florentine  rustication  of  the  lower  story  and  the 
Roman  palace  windows  of  the  upper.  During  the  quarter 
of  a  century  which  Machuca  devoted  to  the  building  he  com- 
pleted   the   extensive   subterranean   vaulting   and    the   main 


Fig.  96 — West  Facade  of  Charles  V's  Palace  at  Granada. 
Pedro  Machuca,  Architect,  1^26  et  seq. 

walls,  exterior  and  interior.  This  does  not  include  the  portals, 
however,  of  which  only  a  portion  of  the  south  entrance  was 
by  him.  Machuca's  son,  following  his  father's  design,  built 
the  first  or  Doric  stage  of  the  imposing  circular  court  and  most 
of  the  octagonal  chapel;  he  also  finished  his  father's  south 
door  and  began  the  main  or  west  entrance.  Of  his  work  the 
most  admirable  is  the  annular  vaulting  of  the  patio.  The 
main  entrance  which  he  began  suffers  at  the  outset  from  the 
squareness  of  its  proportions  and  the  very  obvious  uselessness 
of  the  diminutive  door  each  side  of  the  main.  The  fault  may 
not  be  the  orignal  designer's,  for  when  work  was  resumed 
after   the   Morisco   outbreak,   Juan   de   Herrera,    Philip    II's 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  303 

official  architect,  ordered  his  pupil  Juan  de  Mijares  to  continue 
this  main  entrance;  between  them  they  altered  lamentably 
Machuca's  design.  After  another  long  interruption  one  of 
the  four  projected  staircases  was  built  (1635)  and  very  poorly 
adjusted  to  the  angle  destined  to  receive  it.  This  was  the 
last  touch;  the  roof  including  the  chapel  dome  that  was  to 
tower  above  all  the  buildings  on  the  Alhambra  hill  was  never 
finished;  the  triumphal  arch  springing  from  the  southwest 
corner  likewise  remained  only  on  paper.  It  will  be  readily 
seen  that  this  much  checkered  enterprise  in  which  so  many, 
and  often  unsympathetic,  hands  intervened  does  not  offer 
favorable  opportunity  to  judge  this  first  Spanish  architect 
who  had  studied  in  Italy.  But  his  detail  of  cornice  moulds, 
his  triglyph  frieze  with  alternating  skull  and  rosette  motif, 
and  above  all  his  two  portals  give  ample  evidence  of  how 
abundantly  he  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  Italy. 

Of  these  imposing  entrances  the  southern  or  secondary 
(Plate  LVII),  executed  under  himself  and  his  son,  may  rank 
as  the  best  piece  of  Greco-Romano-Renaissance  in  Spain — 
the  best,  indeed,  outside  of  Italy.  A  Fleming,  Antonio  de 
Leval,  and  an  Italian,  Nicolo  da  Corte,  executed  the  sculpture 
of  the  lower  portion;  and  for  the  upper  this  last  named  ar- 
ranged with  Machuca  in  1548  to  carry  out  his  drawings.  It 
appears  to  be  his  work  although  it  is  known  that  he  tried  to 
let  out  the  contract  in  Genoa.  The  pedestals  of  the  columns 
are  ornamented  with  bas-reliefs  in  the  manner  of  the  antique, 
but  instead  of  the  customary  classic  trophies.  Christian, 
Arabic,  and  Turkish  ones,  all  reminiscent  of  the  Emperor's 
conquests,  have  been  substituted.  Machuca's  tendency  to 
set  the  orders  on  too  high  a  pedestal  is  particularly  noticeable 
here,  but  what  few  defects  the  door  may  have  are  mitigated 
by  the  excellent  sculpture.  A  further  illustration  of  the 
master's  close  knowledge  of  the  antique  are  the  archaic  tapered 
pilasters  at  the  sides,  probably  the  only  instance  of  their  use 
in  Spain. 

The  western  or  principal  entrance  begun  by  Luis  Machuca 
and  finished  by  Herrera's  pupil  Is  inferior  to  the  southern  in 
composition.     The  only  noteworthy  sculpture  Is  that  of  the 


304     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

battle  scenes  on  the  lower  pedestals,  one  of  them  supposed 
to  be  Pavia  where  Charles  V  took  Francis  I  prisoner.    The 


Fig.  97 — Patio  of  Charles  V's  Palace,  Granada. 
Designed  by  Pedro  Machuca  in  1^26,  and  built  by  his  son  Luis. 

Fleming  Leval  made  these  reliefs,  while  Juan  de  Cubillana 
(whose  nationality  is  not  stated  in  the  records)  made  the 
Delia  Robbia  swags,  classic  mouldings,  and  ornamentation 
in  the  architrave.  The  carving  of  the  upper  portion  of  the 
door  is  by  Andres  de  Ocampo.  Nothing  here  has  the  senti- 
ment of  the  sculpture  nor  the  archaic  quality  of  the  tapered 


Q 
< 

< 
o 

<" 
m 

< 


<: 

Q    »o 

<      - 
Q     « 

>^- 
w 

< 
U 

o 


o 


305 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  307 

pilasters  on  the  south  portal,  but  the  detail  throughout  shows 
Machuca's  classic  designing. 

The  interior  of  the  palace  is  less  coherent  than  the  exte- 
rior. Only  the  circular  patio  and  the  four  approaches  were 
ever  completed  and  of  these  only  the  patio  (Fig.  97)  is  really 
noteworthy.  It  is  perfectly  academic  and  therefore  not  Span- 
ish but  it  is  well  proportioned  and  extremely  well  detailed. 
The  stone  construction  is  admirable,  especially  the  annular 
vaulting  of  the  lower  story  which  is  a  continuous  unfeatured 
elliptical  vault.  The  span  between  the  columns  is  made  by 
a  flat  arch  of  three  keystones  resting  on  a  huge  block  over  the 
columns.  The  upper  story  is  unroofed  but  it  is  evident  from 
the  holes  left  in  the  masonry  that  the  ceiling  was  to  be  of 
wooden  beam  construction.  It  is  a  testimony  to  the  endur- 
ance of  good  masonry  that  the  interior  has  suffered  no  dilapi- 
dation during  the  centuries  it  has  stood  open  to  the  sky. 
This  imposing  monument  remained  a  detached  piece  of  classic 
architecture  in  Spain  giving  nothing  to  the  classic  movement 
initiated  later  by  Bartolome  Bustamente  in  the  Hospital 
Afuera  of  Toledo  (1541).  Machuca  also  designed  the  fine 
fountain  near  the  Emperor's  palace  (Plate  LVIII)  and  the 
entrance  gate  to  the  Alameda. 

Turning  from  the  palace  on  the  hill  to  the  typical  domestic 
work  down  in  the  city,  there  is  nothing  remarkable  architec- 
turally in  the  casas  particulares  which  all  too  soon  replaced 
the  Moorish  ones  distributed  by  the  conquering  sovereigns 
among  their  followers.  The  new  homes  were  designated  by 
contemporary  writers  as  casas  castellanas  because  built  for 
Castilians,  but  in  most  respects  they  clung  to  Moorish  build- 
ing traditions.  To  say  that  Siloe  was  architect  of  a  house 
meant  that  a  stereotyped  Siloe  door  and  window  were  inserted 
into  a  plain  stucco  facade;  the  inside  was  a  mere  haphazard 
assembly  of  rooms  conforming  to  a  plot  more  often  irregular 
than  not,  and  with  patio  corresponding.  There  was  no  nicer 
sense  of  plan  here  than  elsewhere  in  Spain  yet  the  interiors, 
like  those  of  Seville,  are  well  worth  studying  for  certain  deco- 
rative features.  Of  wooden  ceilings  in  particular  there  is 
great  abundance.     These  are  of  two  distinct  kinds,  peaked 


308     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

with  open  construction  and  ornamented  tie-pieces,  and  flat 
with  richly  carved  coffers  (Figs.  98  and  99).  The  peaked  is 
exclusively  Moorish  but  the  flat  may  be  either  Moorish  or 
Spanish — either  small  units  arranged  in  geometric  patterns, 


Fig.  98 — Ceiling  in  the  House  of  Luis  de  Cordova,  Granada. 
Dated  ijQ2. 

or  polygonal  coffers  ornamented  In  Renaissance.  It  Is  the 
peaked  celling  which  Is  most  often  met,  not  only  In  Granada 
but  throughout  Andalusia,  and  as  it  Is  simple  In  construction 
it  is  very  adaptable  for  modern  use.  The  room  It  covers  Is 
usually  twice  as  long  as  wide  since  squarer  proportions  would 
bring  the  hipped  ends  too  close  together.  The  top  of  the 
peak  Is  truncated  Into  a  long  flat  panel  and  across  the  face 
of  this  the  rafters  pass  In  a  continuous  line;  where  they  meet 
each  other  at  the  hipped  corners  the  actual  Intersection  is 
visible  between  the  double  hip-rafters  as  may  be  seen  in  Fig. 
98.  Underneath  runs  a  diagonal  cross-piece  not  necessary 
structurally,  but  merely  an  Interesting  survival  of  the  old 
Moorish  canted  corner  supported  by  stalactites.     The  chief 


PLATE  LIX 


CEILING   IN  THE  COUNCIL  ROOM  OF  THE  AYUNTAMIENTO  VIE  JO, 

GRANADA. 


309 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  311 

feature  of  this  type  of  ceiling  is  the  elaborate  coupled  tie- 
pieces  (although  in  Cordova  twisted  iron  rods  were  preferred). 
The  coupled  tie-pieces  always  rest  on  carved  corbels  and  are 
about  14  inches  on  center.  In  smaller  examples  they  are 
left  unconnected  while  in  larger  they  are  united  at  intervals 
by  cabinet  patterning.  Great  refinement  is  imparted  to  the 
beams  by  beading  and  scoring  the  sofSt.  A  more  effective 
result  from  a  simple  process  could  hardly  be  imagined,  for 
by  truncating  the  peak  and  featuring  the  hip,  the  two  un- 
gainly passages  of  the  ordinary  open  roof  are  happily  over- 
come. An  excellent  example  of  this  type  may  be  seen  in  the 
Mudejar  Casa  Chapiz,  but  it  has  lately  been  pierced  by  the 
chimney  of  the  bakery  below.  In  the  front  salon  of  the  now 
dismantled  palace  of  Luis  de  Cordova  is  another  (Fig.  98) 
still  complete,  but  open  to  the  sky  in  many  places  and  there- 
fore discolored  by  the  rain  that  trickles  through.  Both  these 
houses  were  built  about  1590.  The  best  preserved  example, 
although  dating  back  to  Moorish  days,  is  in  the  Casa  del 
Cabildo  Antiguo  or  Ayuntamiento  Viejo  (now  a  warehouse), 
opposite  the  Royal  Chapel  (Plate  LIX).  This  is  one  of  the 
few  treated  in  color.  The  decoration  was  added  after  the  con- 
quest in  1492  when  the  Catholic  Kings  decided  to  use  the 
building,  which  had  been  the  Moorish  University,  for  civic 
purposes.  A  great  number  of  these  ceilings  have  disappeared 
of  late  years  and  those  that  remain  are  in  sad  need  of  repair. 
The  flat  paneled  ceiling,  as  already  stated,  is  of  two  vari- 
eties, Moorish  and  Spanish.  Of  these  the  one  built  up  of 
complex  Moorish  cabinet  work  is  out  of  the  realm  of  modern 
carpentry  and,  indeed,  ceased  to  be  made  in  Spain  when 
there  were  no  more  Moriscos  left  to  patiently  put  it  together. 
As  to  the  coffered  ceiling  whose  combination  of  Renaissance 
design  with  Moorish  carpenteria  makes  the  most  interesting 
of  all  types,  it  is  not  specially  Granadine,  but  is  met  with 
everywhere  in  Spain  and  has  already  been  described.  The 
finest  specimens  in  Granada  are  in  those  apartments  of  the 
Alhambra  which  were  made  over  for  the  occupation  of  the 
Emperor  pending  the  erection  of  his  new  palace.  These 
aposentos  de  Carlos  Quinto  (one  of  which  was  later  occupied 


312     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

by  Washington  Irving)  were  unorientalized  by  removing 
their  yeseria  and  carpinteria  and  putting  in  Renaissance 
ceiUngs  and  "Hnen-fold"  shutters  and  doors.  The  celHngs 
are  said  to  have  been  designed  by  the  royal  architect  Pedro 


Fig.  99 — Ceiling  in  the  Apartments  Remodeled  for  Charles  V  in  the 
Moorish  Alhambra,  Granada. 

Machuca,  and  executed  by  the  same  Juan  de  Plasencia  who 
made  the  splendid  but  badly  lighted  series  In  the  Hospital 
Real.  In  both  buildings  they  are  of  reddish  pine,  undecorated, 
save  for  one  unimportant  example  In  the  royal  suite.  The 
most  purely  Spanish  of  all  (Fig.  99)  Is  In  the  Washington 
Room  (named  for  Washington  Irving).  It  rests  on  a  delicate 
Renaissance  frieze  supported  on  small  modillions.  The 
panels  are  deeply  coffered  octagons  with  flat  portrait  heads 
in  the  soffits.  Perhaps  the  most  skillful  part  of  the  design  Is 
the  flat  square  panel  between  the  octagons,  which  Is  left  un- 
moulded  and  Is  filled  with  a  beautifully  carved  acanthus 
scroll. 

Old  tiles,  even  a  few  with  metallic  luster,  can  still  be  found 


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SI.*? 


SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY     315 

in  the  most  ancient  Granada  houses  but  appear  to  be  less 
numerous  than  in  Seyille.  Nevertheless  they  form  the  princi- 
pal material  for  floors,  wainscoting,  and  staircases.  In  the 
last  mentioned  one  frequently  finds  the    following  practical 


Fig.  100 — Window  by  Jacopo  Florentino,  Cathedral  of  Murcia. 


and  interesting  application:  The  tiles  of  the  tread  are  held 
in  place  by  a  heavy  wooden  nosing  and  are  so  arranged  that 
every  third  or  fourth  unit  is  a  colored  azulejo  set  in  a  field  of 
red  tile  or  brick;  the  tiles  of  the  riser  sometimes  carry  out  the 
same  scheme  though  more  often,  this  being  the  protected  por- 
tion, it  is  entirely  of  azulejos;  and  the  treatment  of  the  land- 
ing is  generally  a  simple  red  field  enclosed  in  a  border  of  colored 
azulejos.  The  diversity  of  effects  obtained  by  this  simple 
process  is  surprising.  A  Toledo  stair  of  the  foregoing  type 
is  illustrated  in  Plate  IV.  Another  material  interestingly 
used  in  vestibules,  patios,  and  garden  paths  is  the  small  egg- 
shaped  stones  from  the  river  bed.     These,  black  and  white, 


316     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

are  laid  in  bold  patterns  with  heraldic  beasts  and  escutcheons 
predominating,  especially  the  double-headed  eagle. 

Earlier  than,  but  without  exerting  the  least  influence  on, 
the  Granadine  school,  was  the  beautiful  Italian  work  done  in 
the  castle  of  Lacalahorra  some  forty  miles  east  of  the  city. 
This  Castillo,  the  last  to  be  built  in  Spain,  was  the  home  of 
Don  Rodrigo  de  Mendoza.  Immediately  after  the  conquest 
this  nobleman  had  been  created  Marquis  del  Zenete  by  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella,  and  was  charged  to  keep  the  Moriscos 
of  his  new  possessions  in  order;  but  before  he  had  time  to 
build  himself  a  residence  in  his  marquisate  he  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  his  sovereign  by  kidnapping  the  noble  Maria 
de  Fonseca  from  the  royal  nunnery  of  Las  Huelgas,  near 
Burgos.  Hence  it  may  have  been  as  much  for  the  purpose 
of  resisting  royal  authority  as  Moorish  uprisings  that  he 
resorted  to  defensive  architecture.  The  exterior  ofl^ers  noth- 
ing of  interest  to  a  student  of  Renaissance.  It  is  a  massive 
rectangle  accentuated  at  the  corners  by  sturdy  round  towers 
and  with  a  large  wing  thrown  out  from  one  side.  The  stones 
are  roughly  dimensioned  and  the  masonry  crude.  There  is 
but  one  entrance,  a  simple  round-arched  opening  with  thick 
wooden  doors  plated  and  studded  with  iron.  The  plan  (Fig. 
loi)  is  Spanish — patio  and  claustral  stair  accompanied  by 
the  usual  plethora  of  large  and  similar  salons  and  the  usual 
non-emphasis  on  domestic  or  service  apartments.  The  lower 
floor  was  given  over  to  the  retainers  and  above  were  the  large 
family  salons.  These  are  covered  with  coarse  wooden  ceil- 
ings, have  a  few  marble  chimney-pieces,  and  a  poor  Palladian 
motif  in  the  salon  de  justicia  (whence  many  a  recalcitrant 
Morisco  was  dragged  to  the  oubliettes  below).  The  surprise 
is  that  in  the  midst  of  this  rude  exterior  and  unstudied  interior 
is  a  beautiful  patio  and  stair-loggia  treated  in  the  Italian 
style.  Here  we  have  the  taste  of  the  owners  revealed  to  us, 
for  Don  Rodrigo  was  deeply  versed  in  Latin  culture  and  his 
wife  was  a  Fonseca  from  Coca,  niece  of  the  Bishop  of  Burgos. 
In  fact  a  Latin  inscription  on  one  of  the  Fonseca  shields  in 
the  patio  reads  munus  uxoris  (the  gift  of  the  wife)  and  it  may 
be  that  Dona  Maria  herself  was  the  one  who  ordered  the 


PLATE  LXI 


>    -' 


'  I  nil  III'  'i»m0immglSfSmi**riim^ 


-•^an^tm^mmmtifum!^. 


^"■M»«>n»>«<»«»—<fc»-«i— WW 


>  Mitm  mm*,,  rwtdffiia;  it(,ni  nnj  w.  -», 


_^ 


STAIRWAY  OF  THE  CASTILLO  DE  LACALAHORRA. 
Michele  Carlone  of  Genoa,  Architect,  1508-12. 


317 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  319 

embellishments.  The  architect  (at  least  of  the  patio)  was 
Michele  Carlone  of  Genoa.  Carlone's  name  is  associated  in 
Genoa  with  the  gallery  in  the  Palazzo  Fornari  (1497)  and  the 
portal   of  the    Palazzo    Pallavicini    (1503).     At   Lacalahorra 


Fig.  ioi — Sketch  Plan  of  the  Mendoza  Castle  at  Lacalahorra. 

he  not  only  had  assisting  countrymen  on  the  spot  but  sent 
back  many  drawings  of  balustrades,  capitals,  cornices,  etc., 
to  be  executed  in  the  busy  marble  yards  of  Carrara.  A  year 
after  the  work  began,  more  sculptors,  most  of  them  Lom- 
bards, were  brought  to  Lacalahorra  and  their  presence  may 
explain  the  fact  that  the  detail  of  the  upper  story  of  the  patio 
is  superior  to  that  of  the  earlier  portion. 

It  was  natural  that  the  Genoese  should  endow  this  castle 
with  one  of  those  sumptuous  stairways  such  as  were  highly 
developed  in  their  own  city  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  its  hill- 
side palaces.  It  is  grand  in  proportions  and  simple  in  detail 
(Plate  LXI).  Walls  are  carried  up  only  to  the  principal  story 
where  it  opens  out  into  a  vast  circulating  area,  the  whole 


320     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

occupying  the  greater  part  of  a  wing  specially  built  to  receive 
it.  It  is  this  feature  that  has  been  cited  as  the  possible  in- 
spiration of  Enrique  de  Egas's  effective  but  clumsily  construc- 
ted Toledo  stairway  built  by  order  of  Don  Rodrigo's  father. 


Fig.  I02 — Patio  of  the  Castillo  de  Lacalahorra. 
Michele  Carlone  of  Genoa,  Architect,  1508-12. 

The  Lacalahorra  balusters  are  good  in  profile,  double-bellied 
in  form,  and  constructed  unit  for  unit  in  the  Italian  manner. 
In  the  doorways  are  further  reminders  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
hospital.  One  of  the  best  leads  from  the  stair  landing  at  the 
mezzanine  level;  the  ornament  employed  in  its  pilaster  panels 
and  frieze  is  of  purely  Italian  conventionality,  and  as  the 
ornament  of  the  Santa  Cruz  entrance  has  not  yet  branched 
out  towards  that  realism  which  became  characteristic  of  the 
later  Plateresque,  one  is  further  inclined  to  believe  that  Egas 
may  have  seen  this  Lacalahorra  example.  The  staircase  wing 
is  a  prolongation  of  the  patio  on  an  axis  transverse  to  the 
purely  military  portion  of  the  castle  and  gives  the  impression 
of  a  secondary  idea  worked  out  within  the  primary  structure 


PLATE  LXII 


WEST  FRONT  OF  THE   CATHEDRAL  OF  JAEN. 
Andres  de  Vandelvira,  Architect,  begun  in  1^32. 


321 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA 


323 


(explained  perhaps  by  the  Fonseca  inscription,  "the  gift  of 
the  wife").     It  is  this  transverse  unit  of  wing  and  patio  that 
IS   Italian,  not   only   in   decoration   but  in   actual   structural 
methods  such  as  vaulted  instead  of  beamed  ceilings      Both 
stories  of  the  patio  are  faced  with   semicircular  arches  (Fig 
I02).     The  columns  of  the  upper  are  pure  Florentine  Corin- 
thian  but  those  of  the  lower  are  cruder  and   their  capitals 
made   excessively  heavy   by   a   superfluous   band   above   the 
necking.     The  cloister  walks  have  groined  vaulting  supported 
where  It  springs  from  the  wall,  on  pilaster  capitals.     In  the 
flat  elliptical  vaulting  of  the  loggia  and  the  rooms  surround- 
mg  the  stairway  at  the  mezzanine,  the  ceiling  is  made  interest- 
ing by  httle  penetrations  at  the  spring.     All  this  vaulting  is 
held  in  by  the  iron  tie-rods  so  common  in  Italy  but  so  unusual 
in  bpain      The  most  admirable  work  aside  from  that  alreadv 
described  is  to  be  found  in  the  half  dozen  entrances  leading 
into   the   salons.     These   are   of  varying  merit,   detail    being 
generally  superior  to  design;  but  there  is  one  (Fig    103)    to 
the  Salon  de  los  Marqueses,  which  is  exceptionally  fine  with 
charming  niched  figures  at  the  sides  that  recall  similar  motifs 
in  the  Malatesta  Chapel  at  Rimini.     After  all  the  art  and 
wealth  expended  to  produce  this  oasis  on  the  bleak  mountain 
side,    the   castle   was   inhabited   only   for   eight   years,    from 
1512-20,  since  when  it  has  been  left  to  fall  to  pieces.     Except 
for  the  echo  of  its  stair  in  far-ofif  Toledo  (and  this  may  be 
accidental)  this  walled-in  bit  of  Italian  art  stands  quite  apart 
from  Spanish  Plateresque. 

The  province  of  Jaen  north  of  Granada  has  three  towns 
in  which  the  Renaissance  made  a  notable  showing— Jaen 
Ubeda,  and  Baeza,  the  last  two  being  only  five  miles  apart^ 
Jaen,  once  capital  of  the  Moorish  Kingdom  of  Javyan  but 
now  a  small  town,  has  an  unduly  magnificent  cathedml  at  the 
base  of  a  bare  African-looking  rock;  Ubeda  contains  several 
churches  and  crumbling  palaces,  and  Baeza  is  famed  for  its 
city  hall.  The  first  place  will  be  recalled  in  connection  with 
Maestre  Bartolome  of  Jaen  who  made  the  superb  reja  in  the 
royal  chapel  in  Granada,  and  who  left  in  these  less  known 
places  a  great  amount  of  interesting  ironwork.     The  Renais- 


324     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 


sance  Cathedral  of  Jaen  was  begun  in  1532  and  dragged  on 
until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  belongs  to  the 
Cranada-Malaga  group,  and  the  most  eminent  architect 
associated   with   it   was   Andres    de   Vandelvira,    follower   of 


'■'.r**"" 


,9MM 


Fig.  103 — Doorway  in  Upper  Story  of  Patio,  Castillo  de  Lacalahorra. 
By  Michele  Carlone  of  Genoa,  1508-12. 

Diego  de  Siloe.  The  handsome  sacristy  and  chapter  room 
are  plainly  his  but  the  rest  of  the  church  is  difficult  to  identify. 
The  structure  while  perfunctory  is  a  noble  one  (Plate  LXII) 
and  the  exterior,  even  that  part  of  it  built  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  fortunately  managed  to  maintain  a  certain  classic 
purity  and  consistency,  as  if  the  wilder  ways  into  which  archi- 
tecture was  then  falling  did  not  penetrate  into  this  remote 
corner  of  Andalusia. 


PLATE  LXIII 


SILLERIA  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  SAXTA  MARIA,  UBEDA. 

By  Juan  de  Reolid  and  Luis  de  Agiiila. 

325 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA 


327 


One  can  better  study  Andres  de  Vandelvira  in  Ubeda  where 
he  built  for  Don  Francisco  de  los  Cobos,  a  native  of  that  city 
and  secretary  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  the  opulent  church 
of  San  Salvador.  Don  Manuel  Gomez  Moreno  who  deserves 
the  credit  of  unearthing  all  that 
is  known  of  this  architect  and 
dissociating  him  from  Pedro  Val- 
devira  (who  probably  never  ex- 
isted) suggests  that  Andres  went 
to  Italy  in  the  service  of  a  rela- 
tive of  the  imperial  secretary. 
If  so  he  was  more  preoccupied, 
and  this  is  true  of  most  Spani- 
ards who  went  to  Italy,  with 
what  he  saw  there  in  the  field  of 
decoration  than  in  architecture 
per  se.  The  church  of  San 
Salvador  shows  two  distinct  in- 
fluences: unpretending  local  tra- 
ditions in  the  apse  and  tower; 
and  rich  Granadine  in  the  west 
facade  and  transept  entrances. 
Indeed,  the  west  portal  might 
have  been  bodily  removed  from 
Granada — arched  opening  with 
soffit  of  paneled  saints,  huge 
figures  in  the  spandrels,  draped 
columns  at  the  side  with  niches 
between,  and  pictorial  relief  over 
all.  In  the  same  spirit  of  imitation  is  the  ornament — equal 
and  monotonous  diffusion  recalling  Siloe's  Puerta  del  Perdon. 
For  the  interior  arrangement  Vandelvira  borrowed  directly  from 
Siloe  and  placed  his  dome  over  the  apse;  while  the  remainder 
of  the  church  with  its  western  gallery  and  poor  late  Gothic 
vaulting  follows  the  same  master's  church  of  San  Jeronimo. 
Why  a  man  who  appreciated  the  excellence  of  Siloe's  dome 
and  carried  it  out  so  well  should  also  have  turned  to  the  infe- 
rior ceiling  of  San  Jeronimo  for  inspiration  is  difficult  to  under- 


FiG.  104 — Custodia  in  the  Sac- 
risty of  the  Cathedral  of  Jaen. 


3^28     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

stand,  unless  Siloe's  name  then  as  now  cast  a  magic  spell  over 
the  Spaniard's  critical  faculty.  There  Is  good  carving  in  the 
silleria  of  the  western  gallery,  executed  probably  by  the  same 
hands  that  made  Santa  Maria's  (Plate  LXIII),  known  to  be 


Fig.  105 — Patio  of  the  Casa  de  las  Torres,  Ubeda. 

by  Juan  de  Reolld  and  Luis  de  Aguila.  To  the  left  of  the 
sumptuous  retablo  (erroneously,  one  would  say,  ascribed  to 
Berruguete)  is  a  niche  containing  a  specially  beautiful  figure 
of  a  boy;  nothing  is  known  of  Its  origin  but  it  is  unquestion- 
ably Italian  and  forcibly  recalls  Sansovlno.  Attached  to  the 
church  is  a  good  sacristy,  which,  executed  entirely  in  gray 
stone,  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  gorgeousness  of  the  main 
interior.  In  its  arrangement  of  recessed  arches  at  the  sides 
and  barrel  vault  above  it  recalls  the  sacristy  of  Sigiienza 
Cathedral  (see  Fig.  62)  but  the  spiritless  character  of  the 
ornament  makes  It  Inferior  to  the  more  famous  example. 
In  the  neighboring  church  of  Santa  Maria  may  be  seen  the 
charming  little  coro  already  mentioned  and  several  fine  rejas 
by  Maestre  Bartolome. 


PLATE  LXIV 


PATIO  OF  THE  CASA  DE  LAS  TORRES,  UBEDA. 


329 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  (iRANADA  331 

Ubeda's  further  claim  to  architectural  distinction  is  her 
remaining  sixteenth-  and  seventeenth-century  palaces.  These, 
preserving  local  traditions,  are  picturesque  and  appealing, 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  many  are  falling  into  decay  and 
that  their  marble  caps,  well  curbs,  and  other  carved  bits  are 
lying  about  in  fragments.  What  remains  of  the  home  of 
Francisco  de  los  Cobos,  which  undoubtedly  was  the  finest, 
is  now  a  corral  (tenement).  The  Casa  de  las  Torres  built 
by  Don  Ruiz  Lopez  Davila  about  1535  or  1540  is  in  bettej- 
shape.  On  its  facade  (Plate  LXIV),  alongside  of  barbaric 
medieval  touches,  is  some  exquisite  Plateresque  ornament, 
but  as  the  carving  is  in  a  coarse  stone  much  of  the  fine  execu- 
tion has  worn  down.  This  fafade,  in  its  repeated  use  of  the 
family  blazon,  its  gigantic  voussoirs  and  ornamental  cresting, 
recalls  early  provincial  work  in  Castile,  especially  Avila;  at 
the  same  time  there  is  a  flatness,  almost  a  timidity,  in  the 
decoration  of  the  columns  and  friezes  that  is  most  un-Spanish. 
This  same  quality  may  be  noticed  on  the  Torrente  palace 
where  the  charm  of  this  local  work  is  better  preserved. 

The  Casa  de  las  Torres  is  in  a  ruinous  state  inside 
but  the  patio  (Fig.  105)  retains  much  of  its  architectural 
splendor.  It  has  none  of  the  archaic  quality  of  the  facade 
though  the  interlacing  of  the  archivolts,  the  patterning  of 
the  parapet,  and  the  presence  of  gargoyles  are  all  reminiscent 
of  the  preceding  century.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  some 
Renaissance  carving  in  the  spandrel  busts  that  displays  a 
refinement  rarely  encountered  outside  of  the  important  centers. 
Of  course  local  historians  insist  that  these  busts  are  the  work 
of  Berruguete  who  was  a  friend  of  Vandelvira;  some  claim 
them  for  Caspar  de  Becerra  who  was  born  either  here  or  in 
nearby  Baeza  and  who  has  been  pronounced  the  greatest 
Spanish  sculptor  of  the  century  by  those  who  consider  as  best 
that  Spanish  art  which  most  closely  imitates  Italian;  still 
another  searcher  ascribes  them  to  Xamete  who,  it  has  been 
mentioned,  is  believed  to  have  carved  the  hundreds  of  por- 
trait busts  in  the  barrel  vaulting  of  the  sacristy  of  Sigiienza 
Cathedral  and  to  have  done  other  fine  work  in  Cuenca.  Ubeda 
has   a  large   provincial  hospital  planned   by  Vandelvira  and 


332     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

commenced  in  1567,  but  its  dull  facade  has  every  appearance 
of  having  been  finished  in  the  following  century. 

The  combined  Ayuntamiento  and  Carcel  (prison)  of  Baeza 
(Fig.  106)  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  gracing  such  a  small  pro- 


FiG.  106 — Palladian  Windows  of  the  Aynntamiento,  Baeza. 

vincial  town.  The  long  facade  of  two  stories  is  interesting 
in  composition  and  really  unique  in  the  disposition  of  its 
windows  and  intervening  decorative  cartouches.  These  win- 
dows are  a  purely  local  interpretation  of  the  infrequent  Pal- 
ladian motif,  whose  use  in  this  unexpected  spot  may  be 
explained  by  the  fact  that  it  made  its  first  appearance  in  the 
not-distant  Lacalahorra.  The  stone  cornice  is  a  patent  trans- 
lation of  Moorish  wooden  eaves  with  carved  brackets.  In 
a  facade  that  shows  so  many  ingenious  traces  it  is  a  pity 
that  it  should  be  stamped  all  over  by  the  insipidity  of  the 
Granadine  school  of  ornament.     The   architect  is  not    men- 


ROYAL  PALACE  AT  GRANADA  333 

tioned  in  the  inscription  that  records  how  "this  work  was 
ordered  by  the  most  illustrious  seiiores  of  Baeza  when  the 
very  illustrious  Don  Juan  de  Borja  was  regidor  in  the  year 
1 5 59-"  Considerably  earlier  in  date  is  the  one  well-preserved 
and  rather  over-restored  palace  of  the  town,  the  Palacio  de 
los  Benavente,  to-day  a  seminary  for  priests.  As  mentioned 
earlier  in  this  work,  there  is  much  resemblance  between  its 
exotic  facade  and  that  of  the  Infantado  Palace  at  Guadalajara. 
Both  have  an  open  loggia  across  the  top  and  both  are  probably 
by  the  same  Flemish  architects,  Juan  and  Enrique  Guas. 


CHAPTER  XI 
ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON 

ZARAGOZA's  renewed  prosperity  after  the  union  of  ARAGON  AND 
CASTILE — RESTORATION  OF  THE  MOORISH  ALJAFERIA — ROYAL  ARCHBISHOPS 
IN  ZARAGOZA — ENRIQUE  DE  EGAS's  CIMBORIO  TO  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF 
LA  SEO  AND  OTHER  PERSIAN  FEATURES — THE  ITALIAN  GIOVANNI  MORETO 
IN  ZARAGOZA — HIS  INFLUENCE  ON  DAMiAn  FORMENT — THE  PORTAL  OF 
SANTA    ENGRACIA    BY    JUAN   AND   DIEGO    DE    MORLANES — TUDELILLA    AND 

THE    TRASCORO    OF    LA    SEO — HIS    ALTAR    OF    THE    TRINITY    IN    JACA THE 

DISPUTED  CAPILLA  DE  SAN  BERNARDO  IN  LA  SEO — IMPORTANCE  OF  MUDE- 
JARES  IN  ZARAGOZA — MUDEJAR  TOWERS  AND  TILED  CUPOLAS — MUDEJAR 
PALACES  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY — THE  LONJA  AND  ITS  RESEMBLANCE 
TO  THE  RICCARDI  PALACE  OF  FLORENCE — ITS  MASSIVE  WOODEN  CORNICE 
— INTERIOR  OF  THE  LONJA — TWO  TYPES  OF  WOODEN  CORNICE  OR  ALERO 
— THE  CASA  ZAPORTA  OR  DE  LA  INFANTA,  NOW  REMOVED  TO  PARIS — THE 
PALACIO  DE  LUNA  OR  AUDIENCIA — BRICKWORK  OF  THE  FACADE — OTHER 
HOUSES  IN  THE  CITY TARAZONA  AND  OTHER  ARAGONESE  TOWNS 


334 


CHAPTER  XI 
ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON 

IN  Zaragoza  (the  English  Saragossa),  which  Is  the  dust- 
colored  capital  of  Aragon,  the  church  as  elsewhere  brought 
Italian  sculptors  to  Its  service;  and  as  the  city  was  enter- 
ing upon  a  wave  of  prosperity  at  the  dawn  of  the  sixteenth 
century  a  number  of  civic  and  private  buildings  also  arose 
and  embodied  certain  of  the  new  elements.  It  is  these  palaces 
of  Zaragoza,  rather  than  the  Imported  and  fragmentary  works 
in  the  churches,  that  are  the  chief  Interest  to  the  student  for 
they  are  a  native  expression.  With  their  huge,  bleached-out 
pine  cornices  and  their  vast  brick  facades  constructed  of  the 
very  material  of  the  Aragonese  desert,  they  may  be  taken  as 
typifying  the  architecture  of  the  whole  province. 

During  the  three  and  a  half  centuries  before  the  Renais- 
sance appeared,  that  is  ever  since  the  union  of  Aragon  and 
Catalonia,  the  former,  being  inland,  had  been  eclipsed  by 
the  latter  with  Its  long  seacoast  and  important  trade;  but 
after  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  or  to  put  It  more 
accurately,  after  Isabella  became  Queen  of  Castile,  his  capital 
began  to  lift  Its  head  once  more.  These  sovereigns  at  once 
proceeded  to  restore  the  Moorish  Castillo  de  la  Aljaferia  for 
their  Zaragoza  sojourns.  What  its  magnificence  was  can 
only  be  judged  to-day  from  the  few  remaining  ceilings  and 
the  grand  stairway,  for  these  are  all  that  survived  successive 
occupation  by  French  and  Spanish  troops  during  the  War  of 
Independence,  and  Its  later  adaptation  as  a  barracks;  but  the 
restoration  mentioned  must  have  been  a  stimulating  event 
to  the  nascent  activities  of  the  century.  The  next  impetus 
came  when  King  Ferdinand  gave  the  diocese  to  his  illegitimate 

335 


336     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

son  Don  Alonso  de  Aragon.  Don  Alonso  was  then  but  a 
mere  youth,  and  as  his  two  sons  succeeded  him  in  the  episcopal 
chair  the  see  was  in  royal  hands  for  about  seventy-five  years. 
These  princes  were  versed  in  letters  and  the  fine  arts,  and 
acquired  many  Renaissance  accessories  for  the  churches. 

Although  the  new  movement  came  into  the  province 
from  the  Mediterranean  side,  principally  Valencia,  rather 
than  from  the  Castilian,  still  the  first  notable  architectural 
undertaking  of  the  century  was  given  to  the  Castilian  Enrique 
de  Egas.  This  was  the  rebuilding  of  the  collapsed  cimborio 
of  the  cathedral  of  La  Seo.  Egas,  it  appears,  represented  to 
the  youthful  archbishop  that  he  was  too  occupied  with  the 
King's  hospital  in  Santiago  to  come  to  the  capital  of  Aragon. 
If,  notwithstanding,  Don  Alonso  prevailed  upon  his  father 
to  relinquish  his  claim  in  favor  of  La  Seo,  it  can  hardly  be 
believed  that  Egas's  connection  with  the  work  went  beyond 
a  sketch  for  the  interior;  indeed  one  may  further  doubt 
whether  his  sketch  was  ever  followed;  for  the  dome,  as  has 
been  remarked  by  the  illustrious  Iranian  authority  M.  Marcel 
Dieulafoy,  "could  not  be  more  purely  Persian  if  the  cupola 
had  been  built  at  Ispahan  or  Bidjapur  for  the  tomb  of  Mah- 
mud."^  It  is  an  interesting  arrangement  of  vaulting  based 
upon  an  eight-pointed  star  (Fig.  107),  with  the  points  pro- 
longed down  into  Renaissance  colonnettes  and  the  whole 
supported  upon  squinches.  The  first,  or  colonnette,  stage 
is  completely  Renaissance  in  decoration.  The  exterior  is  a 
beautiful  piece  of  Mudejar,  surely  the  work  of  some  Zaragoza 
builder  and  true  to  the  best  Mudejar  traditions  of  the  pro- 
vince. It  is  of  the  customary  non-lustrous  bricks  interspersed 
with  faience  and  repeats  the  fine  treatment  in  the  famous 
northeast  wall  (Plate  LXV),  built  about  1375  by  Archbishop 
de  Luna — the  wall  of  which  George  Street  wrote:  *'The  general 
character  of  this  very  remarkable  work  is  certainly  most 
effective:  and  though  I  should  not  like  to  see  the  Moresque 
character  of  the  design  reproduced,  it  undoubtedly  affords 
valuable  suggestions  for  those  who  are  attempting  to  develop 
a  ceramic  decoration  for  the  exterior  of  buildings." 

'  Art  in  Spain  and  Portugal  by  Marcel  Dieulafoy,  p.  211. 


PLATE  LXV 


^K^ 


rc^r 


MUDEJAR  BRICKWORK  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  LA  SEO,  ZARAGOZA. 


337 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON 


3S9 


Neither  Egas  nor  his  dome  had  any  influence  on  the  new 
movement  in  Aragon;  but  early  in  the  century  an  Itahan, 
Giovanni  Moreto,  went  travehng  through  the  province  and 
doing  pure   Florentine  work   in   the  cathedrals  of  Jaca  and 


Fig.  107 — Interior  of  the  Cimborio  of  La  Seo. 
Attributed  to  Enrique  de  Egas,  ijoj. 


Tarazona.  He  finally  settled  down  in  Zaragoza  where  he 
made  the  handsome  stalls  (Fig.  108)  now  in  the  cathedral  of 
El  Pilar,  the  later  of  Zaragoza's  two  metropolitan  churches. 
Moreto  was  undoubtedly"  an  important  factor  in  the  career 
of  the  greatest  sculptor  of  the  Aragonese  school,  Damian 
Forment.  Forment  came  as  a  Gothicist  from  Valencia  in 
1509;  his  first  production  was  the  magnificent  retablo  which 
is  also  now  housed  in  El  Pilar.  Then  he  went  north  to  make 
one  even  finer  for  the  cathedral  of  Huesca.  In  the  predella 
of  the  former  and  the  whole  of  the  latter  his  sculpture  has 
ceased  to  be  Gothic  and  has  become  sensuously  Italian,  but- 
the  frames  of  both  remain  Gothic.  In  1527  he  carved  the 
lofty  retablo  (Fig.  109)  for  the  Monastery  of  Poblet  near 
Tarragona,  one  of  the  few  objects  that  escaped  wreckage 
when  the  Liberals  looted  the  place  in  1835.     Here  the  entire 


,'UO     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

work  is  pure  Renaissance  and  is  one  of  the  finest  of  its  kind. 
This  by  no  means  exhausts  the  Hst  of  F^orment's  productions, 
for  he  was  called  to  work  for  churches  in  Barbastro  and  Santo 
Domingo  de  la  Calzada  where  he  died  about   1541.     Jusepe 


Fig.  108 — Silleria  of  El  Pilar,  Zaragoza,  from  a  Cast  in  the  Museo 

Provincial. 
Giovanni  Moreto,  Sculptor,  1542. 

Martinez  (d.  1682)  says  in  his  Disairsos  "Damian  made  an 
infinity  of  works  in  alabaster  and  wood;  but  of  those  in  wood  it 
is  known  that  they  were  mostly  the  work  of  his  disciples 
following  his  drawings  and  models.  He  never  had  less  than 
twelve  or  fourteen  pupils,  without  whose  aid  he  could  never 
have  accomplished  one  fifth  of  the  work  credited  to  him." 
Forment  was  really  a  great  sculptor  but  the  inscription  on 
his  tomb  nevertheless  overstates  his  skill  in  declaring  him 
to  have  rivaled  Phidias  and  Praxiteles:  ''Arte  statuaria  Phidiae 
Praxitelisque  aemulus." 

There  is  considerable  discussion  as  to  the  author  of 
Zaragoza's  next  piece  of  Renaissance,  the  portal  of  Santa 
Engracia  (Fig.  no).  The  church  was  begun  by  Juan  Mor- 
lanes  under  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  but  had  not  proceeded 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON    :{41 

far  when  Ferdinand  left  for  Naples.  An  interruption  of  fifteen 
years  ensued  and  when  the  work  was  resumed,  either  the  son 
Diego  Morlanes  or  Forment  carried  it  on.  The  portal  is  of 
the  material  preferred  by  all  Aragonese  sculptors— alabaster 


HfPf 


Fig.  109 — Retablo  111  the  Ruined  Alonastery  of  Poblet. 
Ascribed  to  Damidn  Forment,  I52y. 

from  the  hills  of  the  lower  Ebro.  The  composition  was  well 
described  by  Philip  when  he  said  that  the  monks  of  Santa 
Engracia  had  taken  the  retablo  out  of  their  church  and  put 
it  at  the  entrance.  It  is  not  an  admirable  work  and  Forment's 
admirers  need  not  be  so  zealous  in  claiming  it  for  him.  The 
sculpturesque  quality  which  he  as  a  Gothicist  carried  into  his 
Renaissance  is  entirely  lacking,  and  the  architectural  forms 
are  dry  and  perfunctory.  True  the  statues  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  are  often  pointed  to  as  initiating  the  change  from 


342     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Gothic  conventionality  to  Renaissance  realism.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  in  the  way  of  portraiture,  they  are  an  improve- 
ment on  the  doll-like  faces  of  these  same  monarchs  by  Felipe 
Vigarni  in  the  Renaissance  retablo  of  the  Capilla  Real    at 


Fig.   1 10 — Portal  of  Santa  Engracia,  Zaragoza. 


Granada.  The  facade  of  Santa  Engracia,  now  freely  restored, 
is  all  that  was  left  of  the  once  great  convent-church  after  the 
siege  of  1808.  The  convent  which  stood  back  of  it  and  which 
was  also  much  battered  had  an  excessively  rich  Plateresque 
patio  by  Tudelilla,  another  distinguished  sculptor-architect 
of  the  Zaragoza  group.  This  patio  in  plaster  and  stucco 
evoked  much  praise  from  George  Street,  one  of  the  last  critics 
to  examine  it  and  one  who  had  small  sympathy  with  Plat- 
eresque. Tudelilla  also  designed  the  trascoro  of  La  Seo, 
in  yeseria,  though  it  was  probably  not  erected  until  after  his 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGOX         343 

death.  It  is  a  work  of  much  merit  in  parts  though  restlessly 
rich.  He  is  seen  to  better  advantage  in  the  altar  of  the  Trinity 
at  Jaca  (1538).  Here  the  domination  of  architectural  motifs, 
well  understood  and  well  executed,  differentiates  it  from  his 
trascoro  at  Zaragoza;  differentiates  it  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  might  credibly  be  ascribed  to  Moreto.  The  central  figure 
of  God  the  Father  has  the  grandeur  of  Michelangelo,  and 
in  the  frieze  are  smaller  figures  of  great  charm. 

This  artist  Tudelilla  is  one  of  the  few  working  in  Zara- 
goza of  whom  details  have  come  down  to  us.  His  real  name 
was  Martin  de  Gaztelu.  Born  in  either  Tudela  or  Tarazona 
in  the  late  fifteenth  century,  he  studied  in  Italy  and  on  his 
return  established  himself  in  Zaragoza,  where  he  was  popularly 
known  as  Tudelilla.  It  is  said  that  ''many  palaces  and  large 
houses  in  Zaragoza  were  built  by  him  or  under  his  direction." 
He  is  known  to  have  helped  the  younger  men  in  the  profession 
and  to  have  lived  so  prodigally  that  when  he  died  in  1569 
"his  heirs  found  nothing  more  than  drawings,  plaster  models, 
books,  and  the  instruments  of  his  art;  for  which  reason  Do- 
mingo, son  of  the  great  master,  had  to  sell  the  house  of  said 
Martin  in  the  Calle  San  Bias  facing  that  of  Juan  de  Arbas  the 
silversmith."  The  alabaster  chapel  of  San  Bernardino  is 
another  sumptuous  piece  of  Plateresque  in  the  cathedral  of 
La  Seo.  It  was  built  by  Bishop  de  Hernando  of  Aragon, 
grandson  of  King  Ferdinand,  to  hold  his  own  and  his  mother's 
tomb.  The  sarcophagi  supporting  the  fine  recumbent  figures 
are  beautifully  carved  and  superior  to  the  altars  above. 
These  tombs  are  variously  ascribed  to  Tudelilla,  Diego  Mor- 
lanes,  and  to  two  pupils  of  Damian  Forment  named  Juan  de 
Liceire  and  Bernardo  Monero. 

From  this  partial  list  of  sixteenth-century  acquisitions  it 
will  be  seen  that  Zaragoza  was  no  stranger  to  the  new  style. 
The  valley  of  the  Ebro  was  the  natural  route  for  artists  passing 
to  and  from  Italy,  and  the  Aragonese  capital  the  most  impor- 
tant stopping  place.  It  was  here  in  1518  that  Domenico 
Fancelli  died  on  his  way  back  to  Carrara  to  execute  the 
Cisneros  tomb.  Ordonez,  Berruguete,  and  Caspar  de  Becerra 
of  Baeza  all  tarried  here,  the  last  mentioned  spending  a  week 


.'544     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

in  the  house  of  Diego  Morlanes  and  leaving  with  him  many 
Italian  sketches.  All  this  influx  of  Italian  art,  though  it  modi- 
fied the  secular  architecture  of  the  city,  never  swerved  it  from 
its   traditional   road.     Zaragoza  was  more  strongly  Mudejar 


Fig.  Ill — The  Cathedral  of  El  Pilar,  Zaragoza,  from  across  the  Ebro. 

than  any  other  large  city  in  Spain.  The  wise  Aragonese  had 
early  appreciated  the  conquered  Moors  who  remained  as  a 
valuable  asset  in  the  city's  industrial  life.  From  the  time  of 
the  Reconquest  the  Mudejares  had  their  own  gremios  or  guilds 
and  carried  their  banners  in  the  civic  processions.  When, 
in  1503,  King  Ferdinand  tried  to  enforce  Cardinal  Jimenez 
de  Cisneros'  decree  of  banishment  or  baptism  the  Mudejares 
had  become  so  important  in  commerce,  agriculture,  and  the 
arts,  that  the  Aragonese  authorities  themselves  opposed  the 
order.  They  were  successful  in  warding  it  off  until  1526 
when  the  zealous  Charles  compelled  its  execution.  In  the 
field  of  architecture,  Moorish  brickwork  and  carpentry  had 
been  an  unbroken  tradition  ever  since  the  coming  of  the  Arabs 
to  the  region.  On  the  Christian  occupation  it  was  Mudejares 
who  built  the  churches.  One  of  these,  San  Pablo,  dating  from 
the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  is  referred  to  by  Fergus- 
son  as  of  such  oriental  aspect  that  "it  might  pass  for  a  church 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON    .'}4.> 

in  the  Crimea  or  the  Steppes  of  Tartary."  The  most  distinctive 
note  of  the  medieval  city  was  its  Mudejar  brick  towers  with 
their  polychrome  tile  cupolas,  eastern  looking,  naturally, 
since  they  had  as  prototype  the  Arab  prayer  tower.  Even  as 
late  as  the  sixteenth  century  a  new  brick  tower  was  added  to 
the  already  large  group  comprised  by  San  Pablo,  San  Miguel, 
Santa  Magdalena,  San  Gil,  and  many  others.  In  this  case  it 
was  a  free-standing  clock  tower,  the  famous  Torre  Inclinada; 
but  this  unfortunately  must  be  spoken  of  in  the  past  tense, 
for  though  its  lean  had  not  increased  in  two  centuries  it  was 
taken  down  in  1894.  Without  it  Zaragoza  is  what  Seville 
would  be  without  the  Giralda.  In  these  towers  the  brickwork 
was  not  only  patterned  but  in  many  cases  embellished  with 
colored  tiles  in  the  manner  of  the  previously  mentioned  north- 
east wall  of  La  Seo. 

The  bulk  of  Zaragoza's  sixteenth-century  architecture  was 
not,  however,  ecclesiastic.  Though  many  palaces  have  dis- 
appeared a  surprising  number  remain  considering  the  extensive 
modernizing  which  the  city  has  undergone.  Fortunately 
the  most  noted  civic  monument  has  been  saved  intact;  this 
is  the  Lonja  or  Exchange  (Fig.  112)  finished  in  155 1  at  the 
expense  of  Bishop  Fernando  of  Aragon.  The  Lonja  preserves 
in  material  and  detail  all  the  salient  characteristics  of  Aragon- 
ese  architecture;  at  the  same  time  it  is  reminiscent  of  the  early 
Florentine  palaces,  particularly  the  Riccardi,  built  nearly  a 
hundred  years  before.  Comparing  the  two  the  inspiration 
seems  obvious;  but  on  analyzing  the  points  of  resemblance — 
bigness  of  scale,  huge  cornice,  arch  motif  at  the  top,  and  general 
exterior  ruggedness — one  has  to  admit  that  these  characteristics 
were  common  to  each  of  these  centers  aside  from  all  question 
of  contact.  In  both  the  Lonja  and  the  Florentine  example 
the  cornice  is  one  tenth  the  total  height  and  the  facade  is 
divided  horizontally  into  three  stages;  further  similarity 
would  be  apparent  had  not  the  ground  floor  arches  of  the  Ric- 
cardi been  walled  up  by  Michelangelo.  And  yet  the  Lonja 
is  not  Italian  but  typical  Zaragozan.  The  architect,  like 
all  Aragonese  designers,  realized  the  importance  of  strong 
shadows  in  brickwork;  by  means  of  deeply  recessed  windows 


34G     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

with  successive  reveals,  and  by  panels  set  in  various  planes, 
he  imparted  an  interest  not  less  than  that  which  the  Itahan 
secured  through  his  cyclopean  stonework.  A  most  effective 
handling  of   the  material    is  seen  in    the  band  that  extends 


Fig.  112 — The  Lonja,  Zaragoza. 
Architect  unknown.     Dated  1^51. 

around  the  two  exposed  sides  of  the  Lonja  just  above  the  first 
story  arches.  This  band  is  made  up  of  an  impressive  mono- 
tony of  blank  openings,  decorative  only,  since  they  have  no 
relation  to  the  interior.  At  the  top  of  the  building  is  the 
Aragonese  arcaded  motif  which,  often  walled  up  in  Zaragoza 
palaces,  is  left  open  in  the  Lonja,  as  is  the  case  in  the  milder 
climate  of  Palma  de  Mallorca,  once  part  of  Aragon.  Across 
this  top  story  are  inserted  terra  cotta  busts  of  the  ancient 


PLATE  LXVI 


RED  PINE  CORNICE  OF  THE  L0N7A,  Z.ARAGOZA.  1551. 


w, 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGOX 


340 


kings.  The  extreme  depth  of  the  reveals  throughout  the  ex- 
terior is  made  possible  by  the  enormous  thickness  of  the 
walls,  a  thickness  imposed  by  the  Gothic  vaulting  of  the 
interior.  The  dominating  feature  of  the  whole  exterior  is 
the  wooden  cornice  {alero  or 
more  accurately  cornisd),  one 
of  the  finest  in  a  province  fa- 
mous for  them  (Plate  LXVI). 
It  is  nearly  7  feet  high  and 
projects  over  5  feet.  Its  profile 
is  more  classic  than  most  Span- 
ish wooden  cornices  but  its 
detail  is  as  exotic  as  one  expects 
to  find  in  a  Mudejar  region. 
As  a  wooden  interpretation  it 
is  remarkable  for  its  solidity 
and  crowns  the  edifice  quite 
as  nobly  as  if  it  were  in  stone. 
These  pine  cornices  were  never 
painted  and  are  no  longer 
oiled,  so  that  their  once  rich 
reddish  color  has  bleached  out 
to  the  same  dusty  hue  as  the 
brickwork. 

The  interior  of  the  Lonja  is  a  vast  hall  123  feet  long,  80 
feet  wide,  and  50  feet  high  to  the  crown  of  the  pointed  vault- 
ing (see  Figs.  113  and  114).  From  the  fact  that  the  transverse 
arches  are  semicircular  and  that  the  columns  are  Ionic,  one 
might  suspect  that  the  original  idea  had  been  to  treat  the 
ceiling  in  Renaissance,  but  that  certain  difficulties,  such  as 
the  bays  not  being  square,  had  caused  the  builders  to  fall  back 
on  the  earlier  and  more  elastic  style.  Their  solution  resembles 
the  Gothic  vaulting  of  La  Seo  even  to  the  amorini  grouped 
around  the  spring  of  the  ribs.  Where  no  structural  problems 
perplexed  them  the  interior  is  Renaissance.  The  very  charm- 
ing little  upper  windows  with  splayed  reveals  resemble  closely 
those  added  to  San  Pablo  by  Juan  de  Miraso  in  1571.  The 
only  Mudejar  touch  of  the  interior  is  the  lettered  frieze,  gold 


Fic.  113 — Plan  of  the  Lonja, 
Zaragoza,  1551. 


3.>0     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 


on  blue,  and  playing  the  same  decorative  part  as  similar 
friezes  in  the  synagogues  of  Toledo  and  other  Mudejar  monu- 
ments. The  inscription  is  interesting  for  the  side-light  it 
throws  on  the  obstinate  Aragonese  character:  Joan  the  Mad 


Fig.  114 — Interior  of  the  Lonja,  Zaragoza,  1551. 

shut  up  in  her  tower  at  Tordesillas  had  ceased  to  exist  politi- 
cally for  the  Castilians,  but  Aragon  refused  to  admit  Charles's 
claim  to  the  throne  during  the  lifetime  of  his  mother; 
hence  the  inscription:  **In  the  year  1551  a.d.  Madama  Joan 
and  Don  Charles  ruling  together  this  exchange  was  built.'* 
The  architect  of  the  Lonja  is  unknown.  Every  writer  is 
ready  with  an  attribution,  generally  Diego  Morlanes;  but 
the  Lonja  facade,  noble  though   it  is,   is  merely  traditional 


PLATE  LXVII 


.SIZE  OF  BBaCK5    13  X  li  IN- 

CORNICE  AM>:VPPER-  SXC^ 


PiAKCF^CFFIT 


PALACIO  DEIA 
liEALjWAESTRAMZA 
ZARAGOZA 


PINE  CORNICE  AND  FACADE  OF  THE  REAL  MAESTRANZA,  ZARAGOZA. 


351 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON         353 

Aragonese  brickwork  devoid  of  any  personal  touch  by  which 
its  author  might  be  identified.  The  same  is  true  of  the  fronts 
of  the  city's  palaces,  and  the  mere  fact  that  certain  architects 
are  recorded  in  cathedral  archives  as  having  been  employed 
on  sumptuous  altars  and  tombs  is  the  only  reason  for  assum- 
ing that  they  did  the  civic  and  domestic  work  of  the  city. 

Before  and  during  the  erection  of  the  Lonja  many  solares 
or  town  houses  were  rising  in  the  city.  These  were  of  brick 
with  far  projecting  wooden  cornices,  an  arcaded  gallery  across 
the  top,  few  but  large  and  severely  plain  windows,  and  an 
entrance  portal  generally  round-arched  with  stone  trim  of 
imposing  section.  Many  such  examples  may  be  seen  in  the 
Calle  Yedra  and  surrounding  streets,  which  old  quarter  pre- 
sents a  picture  of  what  Zaragoza  was  before  the  broad  new 
thoroughfares  were  cut  through.  The  type  of  facade  was 
determined  by  the  narrowness  of  the  streets — 13  or  14  feet; 
the  entrance  and  overhanging  cornice  being  the  only  features 
that  could  be  appreciated,  embellishment  was  limited  to 
them.  Cornices  were  invariably  carved  in  soft  reddish  pine. 
They  are  of  two  distinct  types,  one  based  on  Moorish,  the 
other  on  classic  precedent.  The  former  is  distinctly  a  wooden 
eaves,  as  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  115,  and  consists  of  a  series  of 
brackets  with  carved  ends  and  paneled  sides  supporting  the 
rafter  purlin.  This  type  is  generally  seen  on  the  smaller 
houses.  The  second  follows  its  stone  prototype  but  is  en- 
riched by  a  wealth  of  Mudejar  carving.  Besides  the  Lonja, 
other  examples  of  this  second  type  are  the  Audiencia  (Courts 
of  Law)  and  the  Real  Maestranza  (Royal  Cavalry  Club) 
which  is  illustrated  in  Plate  LXVIL  On  the  Casa  Consistorial 
of  Huesca  some  forty  miles  north  is  another  famous  example. 
Little  is  known  of  the  men  who  carved  them  but  it  is  on  record 
that  about  the  middle  of  the  century  Antonio  de  Prado  made 
the  hood  over  the  portal  of  San  Pablo  and  also  the  very  elab- 
orate but  rather  wild  example  on  the  Argillo  Palace,  now  the 
Colegio  San  Felipe.  These  same  cornice  workers  were  un- 
doubtedly responsible  for  the  magnificent  ceilings  of  various 
edifices  in  the  city. 

Very  few  Zaragoza  palaces  remain  intact.     Patio  columns, 
23 


354     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

rejas,  ceilings,  and  other  portable  parts  have  disappeared  and 
the  most  perfected  specimen,  the  Casa  Zaporta,  was  recently- 
taken  down  and  reerected  in  Paris.  This  house,  because  of 
a  Spanish  princess  having  lived  in  it  in  the  eighteenth  century, 


1 

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fr 

■         ^^^^ftf    .,fc    -.flf 

Fig.  115 — Wooden  Cornice  of  Moorish  Type,  Zaragoza. 

was  also  called  the  Casa  de  la  Infanta.  It  is  known  that 
Tudelilla  finished  the  patio  in  155 1  and  that  the  whole  in- 
terior was  very  sumptuous,  yet  it  faced  on  the  narrow  Calle 
San  Jorge  near  the  typical  Yedra  Street  just  mentioned.  Its 
patio  was  naturally  the  focus  for  the  ornamentalist,  and  draw- 
ings of  it  may  be  seen  in  Prentice's  well  known  portfolio. 
Among  extant  palaces  the  most  conspicuous  is  that  of  the 
illustrious  Luna  family  to  which  belonged  the  Antipope 
Benedict  XIII.  Considerably  remodeled,  it  is  now  the  Audi- 
encia.  The  patio,  probably  altered  soon  after  the  last  owner 
died  (1728)  and  bequeathed  the  building  to  the  Royal  Tri- 
bunal, is  of  small  merit.  Nor  does  much  else  of  the  interior 
remain  in  its  original  state  except  the  fine  wooden  artesonados, 
all  built  up  of  panels,  carved,  but  neither  painted  or  gilded. 
In  the  chapel  the  ceiling  takes  the  form  of  a  simple  barrel 
vault  richly  coffered  and  supported  by  a  beautifully  carved 


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ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON 


359 


frieze.  The  noble  facade  of  the  Audiencia,  however,  has 
undergone  but  httle  change  (Plate  LXVIII).  It  is  156  feet 
long,  flanked  by  two  square  towers.  That  the  building  was 
planned  to  be  symmetrical  on  all  four  sides  seems  probable, 


Fig.  116 — A  Small  Brick  Palace  in  the  Calle  Mayor,  Zaragoza. 

but  the  elevation  on  the  Coso  was  the  only  one  ever  completed, 
and  even  here,  the  grotesque  entrance  is  a  much  later  addi- 
tion. The  lower  portion  is  stone,  with  the  brick  beginning  at 
the  piso  pri7icipal;  this  latter,  by  its  austerity  and  great  scale, 
is  particularly  impressive.  Across  the  top  of  the  building 
and  embracing  the  towers  runs  the  typical  arcaded  motif, 
in  this  case  bricked  in;  above  is  the  usual  wooden  cornice. 
The  upper  part  of  the  towers  is  paneled  and  patterned  in 
contrast  to  the  plain  laying  up  of  the  rest  of  the  facade.  A 
few  remarks  on  the  brickwork  on  the  Audiencia  will  apply  to 
all  in  the  city.  The  units,  clay  colored,  are  of  a  uniform  size 
measuring  13x5^x1^  inches.  They  are  rough  but  fairly 
true,  laid  up  alternate  header  and  stretcher,  nine  courses  to 
every  twenty-four  inches  inclusive  of  the  joints,  which  are 
troweled  flush.  Irregularities  are  frequently  met.  There 
are  no  moulded  bricks,  string  courses  being  formed  by  pro- 


360     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XM  CENTURY 


jecting  the  ordinary  units,  nor  are  arch  bricks  ever  rubbed. 
Patterning  is  confined  to  panels  and  effect  is  easily  obtained 
in  this  strong  light  by  slight  and  varied  projections.  Among 
the  other  notable  brick  edifices  of  Zaragoza  is  the  palace  now 

used  by  the  Real  Maestranza,  the 
Convento  Santa  Fe  later  used  as  the 
Provincial  Museum  (Plate  LXIX), 
the  Guara  Palace  now  the  Banco  de 
Credito,  and  a  number  of  smaller 
houses  in  the  old  part  of  the  town. 
That  of  the  sculptor  Morlanes,  in 
this  old  quarter,  presents  the  novelty 
of  decorated  windows,  but  these 
have  been  so  covered  with  paint 
that  It  is  impossible  to  judge  of  their 
original  merit. 

Huesca,  Tarazona,  Daroca,  Ter- 
uel,  and  other  Aragonese  towns 
possess  interesting  examples  of 
brickwork  of  the  period,  combined 
with  wooden  cornices  and  ceilings. 

PiQ.  117 ^^Detail  of  the      O^  these    Huesca,    farthest    to   the 

Pine  Cornice  on  the  Audi-  north,  close  In  fact  to  the  Pyrenees, 
encia,  Huesca.  boasts  In  its  Casa  Consistorlal,  the 

best  civic  building  of  the  province 
after  the  Lonja  of  Zaragoza.  To  a  certain  extent  It  recalls 
the  Audlencia  but  the  arcaded  motif  has  grown  to  a  fully 
developed  loggia.  This  is  crowned  by  the  magnificent  wooden 
cornice  already  mentioned  (Fig.  117).  Tarazona,  almost  in 
Navarra,  Is  picturesquely  situated  on  the  side  of  a  cliff  and 
is  very  medieval  in  appearance.  The  brick  cimborio  added 
by  Canon  Juan  Munoz  to  the  Romanesque  Cathedral  is  a 
good  piece  of  Renaissance  inside  similar  to  La  Seo  of  Zaragoza, 
but  externally  it  Is  more  picturesque  than  structural.  Since 
George  Street's  day  the  cloister  he  so  admired  has  fallen  Into 
sad  ruin;  hardly  any  of  Its  once  famous  terra  cotta  tracery 
remains  and  the  cloister  enclosure  Is  now  a  weedy  patch  which 
no  one  is  Interested  In  cleaning  up.     The  cathedral  tower  is 


H  OfLJ-CA 


C  ORJUCt     of    Tt-IE 


ZARAGOZA  AND  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ARAGON    361 

much  later  than  and  inferior  to  that  of  Santa  Magdalena  in 
the  same  town;  this  latter  in  fact  is  one  of  the  finest  towers 
in  the  province.  With  the  exception  of  its  cupola  it  dates  from 
the  fifteenth  century  and  would  therefore  be  the  work  of  Mu- 
dejares,  who  terminated  it  in  the  usual  eastern  truncated 
manner.  But  unlike  most  of  these  early  Aragonese  towers 
which  were  later  topped  off  with  lead  cupolas,  this  Santa 
Magdalena  example  received  a  brick  termination.  The 
only  other  building  of  importance  is  the  archiepiscopal  palace 
rising  high  from  the  river.  Its  great  arched  buttresses  give 
it  a  medieval  aspect  though  in  reality  it  dates  from  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries.  In  Calatayud  there  are 
a  number  of  typical  Mudejar  towers  but  nearly  all  in  dilapi- 
dated condition.  Entirely  abandoned  is  the  one  interesting 
Renaissance  palace,  a  small  structure  on  the  Rua  or  main 
street.  The  rich  Plateresque  portal  of  the  collegiate  church 
of  Santa  Maria  built  in  1528  by  Juan  de  Talavera  and  Etienne 
Veray  is  a  mediocre  production  made  interesting  chiefly  by 
its  great  projecting  hood.  It  too  was  in  sad  state  until  recently 
restored. 


CHAPTER  XII 

OLD  PALACES  IN  PAL^L\  DE  :MALL0RCA 

THE  MALLORCAN  ARISTOCRATS   OF  THE   EARLY   SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  FURNISHINGS  STILL  IN  DAILY  USE  IN  PALMA  HOMES — 
MALLORCAN  ARCHITECTS  IN  GOTHIC  DAYS — JUAN  DE  SALES  FIRST  RE- 
NAISSANCE ARCHITECT  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL — HIS  LARGE  PULPIT — DOMES- 
TIC ARCHITECTS  UNKNOWN INSULAR  TYPE  OF  PALACE — FACADE  DICTATED 

BY     NARROWNESS      OF     STREET — PECULIARITIES     OF     THE     PALMA     PATIO, 

CALLED      ZAGUAN SUPERIOR      CHARACTER      OF      ITS      MASONRY UNIQUE 

STAIRWAY  CONSTRUCTION  THROUGHOUT  THE  CITY SHEET-IRON  BALUS- 
TRADES— CONCENTRATED  PLAN  OWING  TO  BUILDING  OVER  OF  ZAGUAN 
AREA — PALACE  OF  THE  MARQUES  DE  VIVOT — THE  CASA  DEL  MARQUES 
DE  PALMER  AND  ITS  FLEMISH  TOUCHES — THE  OLEZA  HOUSE — OTHER  EX- 
AMPLES   IN    THE    CITY 


362 


CHAPTER  XII 
OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 

IT  Is  a  far  cry  from  Granada  to  the  Island  of  Majorca  which 
Hes  some  two  hundred  kilometers  out  from  Barcelona 
and  Valencia  respectively;  but  as  one  follows  the  Medi- 
terranean coast  up  from  Andalusia  to  Barcelona,  the  inter- 
vening country  contains  only  fragmentary  bits  of  the  period 
under  consideration,  as  explained  in  Chapter  I.  Out  on  the 
island,  however,  things  went  differently.  Majorca  was  able 
to  maintain  itself  aloof  from  the  troubles  that  beset  Catalonia 
and  Aragon  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
Likewise  it  failed  to  share  in  the  revival  of  those  provinces 
(though  it  needed  it  less)  and  consequently  it  has  escaped  the 
modern  German  Influence  so  disturbingly  paramount  In  the 
new  Catalan  school  of  architecture. 

The  delightful  old  city  of  Palma,  capital  of  the  Balearic 
Islands,  Is  quite  crowded  with  simple  sixteenth-century  palaces 
of  a  distinctive  character,  these  with  the  added  interest  of 
being  still  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of  the  very  nobles 
who  built  them.  Back  in  the  thirteenth  century  Don  Jaime 
the  Conqueror  divided  the  Island  among  those  fierce  Aragonese 
warriors  who  had  helped  him  to  wrest  It  from  the  Moors. 
These  families  figured  In  the  government  of  Mallorca  through- 
out the  Middle  Ages  and  had  a  solar  in  Palma  as  well  as  their 
countr}^  holdings;  but  of  the  old  Gothic  city  hardly  a  trace 
remains  except  the  cathedral  because  of  a  disastrous  fifteenth- 
century  conflagration.  This  razing  nearly  coincides  with 
the  return  of  a  number  of  nobles  who  had  been  oflf  helping 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon  In  the  conquest,  or  rather  reconquest, 
of  Naples,  a  service  for  which  they  were  handsomely  rewarded. 

363 


364     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

In  the  next  reign  further  enrichment  and  honors  came  through 
fighting  for  the  Emperor  Charles  V  in  Lombardy  and  Ger- 
many.' It  is  phiin,  then,  that  these  islanders  were  by  no  means 
outside  the  main  activities  of  their  day;  that  they  had  seen 


Fig.  ii8 — Stairway  in  the  Palacio  de  Moncado,  Barcelona. 

Italian  architecture  and  naturally  turned  to  it  for  a  model 
when  building  themselves  new  houses  in  Palma.  In  succeed- 
ing centuries  the  island  city  dropped  out  of  the  current  of 
Spanish  events  but  fortunately  with  sufficient  resources  to 
maintain  a  high  degree  of  prosperity;  hence  its  aristocracy 
has  not  been  overcome  by  that  poverty  which  has  dismantled 

*  "The  Emperor  was  so  desirous  of  expressing  his  gratitude  to  Don  Nicolas  Despuig 
that  with  his  own  royal  hands  he  armed  him  caballero  at  Augsburg  and  authorized  him 
and  all  his  descendants  male  and  female  to  use  the  double-headed  eagle  in  their  es- 
cutcheon."    Nobiliario  Mallorquin,  by  Joaquin  Maria  Bover. 


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365 


OLD  PALACES  IX  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA  367 

and  ruined  most  of  the  Castilian  family  seats.  Palma  palaces 
offer  the  unique  opportunity  of  seeing  the  sixteenth-century 
house  not  rearranged  as  for  museum  purposes  but  merely 
left  untouched  from  the  period  when  its  furnishings  repre- 
sented the  very  latest  comfort  and  elegance  that  money  could 
import.  Many  a  vast  salon  is  still  hung  with  Flemish  tapes- 
tries or  rich  Valencian  damasks;  the  four-poster  is  curtained 
with  Genoese  velvets,  and  alongside,  to  mitigate  the  rigors 
of  the  bare  stone  floor,  stands  an  enormous  antique  brazier. 
But  the  antiquarians  who  haunt  the  island  have  long  since 
marked  all  these  furnishings  for  their  own  and  whether  the 
foregoing  remarks  will  be  true  a  decade  hence  is  doubtful. 

From  the  annals  of  Palma  Cathedral  one  learns  that  the 
city  came  honestly  by  its  traditions  of  noble  masonry.  As 
far  back  as  the  fourteenth  century  the  native  architect  Jaime 
Fabre  showed  such  skill  in  constructing  its  wide-naved 
cathedral  that  he  was  called  upon  to  become  maestro  mayor 
of  the  more  important  temple  in  Barcelona.  Another  Mal- 
lorquin,  Guillermo  Sagrera,  built  the  wide-naved  cathedral 
of  Perpignan  and  then  came  back  to  erect  the  charming  Lonja 
of  Palma  in  1426.  Whenever  political  disturbances  did  not 
prevent  there  were  always  Mallorcan  Gothicists  to  carry  on  the 
building  of  Palma  Cathedral;  but  the  sixteenth-century  archi- 
tect responsible  for  the  introduction  of  Plateresque  was  the 
Aragonese  Juan  de  Sales.  To  him  are  due  the  pulpits  (1529- 
35),  the  silleria,  and  perhaps  the  west  portal."  Nothing  of  his 
training  is  known  but  apparently  it  was  not  obtained  in  Italy. 
His  work,  like  the  productions  of  all  the  secondary  men 
of  his  day,  has  the  stamp  of  the  high  class  journeyman — 
fluent,  of  varied  composition,  but  utterly  uninspired.  It  sug- 
gests the  elaborate  trascoro  of  La  Seo  in  Zaragoza  ascribed 
to  Tudelilla,  and  one  would  probably  not  be  far  wrong  in 
assuming  that  Sales  had  worked  there  before  coming  to  Palma. 

'  "Sales  saluted  the  aurora  of  the  Renaissance  in  Alallorca.  .  .  .  But  what  do 
these  Greco-Roman  portals  signify  in  the  house  of  God?  What  do  those  grotesques, 
those  rich  festoons,  those  dishonest  sirens,  those  nude  or  nearly  nude  angels,  those 
mannered  and  affected  statues  of  the  saints  devoid  of  all  inspiration  and  character — 
what  can  these  say  to  the  Christian  soul?"  lamented  Don  Pablo  Piferrer  in  his  volume 
entitled  Las  Islas  Baleares,  one  of  the  series,  Bellezas  y  Recuerdos  de  Espana. 


368     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  larger  pulpit  (Fig.  119)  is  the  best  of  his  works — quite  the 
best  piece  of  Plateresque  in  the  city,  in  fact.  It  is  very  large 
as  pulpits  go,  being  13  feet  in  diameter.  While  the  composi- 
tion is  very  Italian  the  use  of  the  uncouth  bearded  figures  as 


Fig.  119 — Pulpit  in  the  Cathedral  of  Palma  de  IMallorca. 
By  Juaii  Sales,  iS2g. 

corbels  is  very  Spanish.  It  is  carved  from  piedra  de  Santani, 
Santafii  being  a  town  in  the  south  of  the  island  which  fur- 
nished most  of  the  building  stone  of  Palma.  The  smaller 
pulpit  is  in  no  way  remarkable  although  the  two  when  con- 
nected by  the  balustrade  which  was  removed  a  few  years 
ago  made  a  dignified  and  original  treatment.  The  Plateresque 
main  entrance  to  the  cathedral  dated  1595  is  a  perfunctory 
specimen  of  the  style. 


OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA  369 

Neither  Sales  nor  anyone  under  him  is  known  to  have 
been  employed  on  the  domestic  work  of  the  city.  The  only 
architect  recorded  is  Cesar  Faccio,  a  Genovese,  who  built 
the  Quint-Zaforteza  Palace.  This  example  is  of  no  impor- 
tance nor  was  the  name  of  the  architect  famous  in  Genoa. 
Romantic  people  determined  on  discovering  Moorish  influ- 
ence paramount  in  Spain  assert  that  everything  in  Palma 
points  to  Africa.  This  is  least  of  all  true  of  Palma  architec- 
ture. In  no  other  large  city  where  the  Moors  held  out  so 
long  (they  were  not  overcome  till  1229)  would  it  be  more 
difficult  to  find  traces  of  Moorish  artizans.  There  is  little 
carpinteria,  no  yeseria,  no  azulejeria  to  speak  of,  and  nothing 
Moorish  in  plan  or  construction.  There  is  no  such  legacy 
as  the  windowless,  exclusive  looking  facades  of  Toledo,  the 
brick  towers  of  Zaragoza,  or  the  highly  domesticated  patio  of 
Seville;  and  as  for  actual  Moorish  remains  only  a  baiio  exists. 
Yet  the  Moors  kept  trying  to  reconquer  the  island  until  as 
late  as  1575  or  thereabouts;  and  every  time  they  effected  a 
landing  they  were  overpowered  and  sold  as  slaves.  The 
advanced  agriculture  of  the  island  would  suggest  that  they 
were  all  employed  in  husbandry  rather  than  in  the  arts. 

The  Palma  residence  is  not  the  product  of  architects  but 
of  intelligent  master  builders,  hence  the  striking  sameness  of 
arrangements  and  details  in  all  the  houses.  The  palaces  are 
commodious  to  the  point  of  vastness  and  almost  invariably 
built  on  a  pinched  and  crooked  street.  Only  in  the  one  broad 
thoroughfare  of  the  town,  EI  Borne,  do  they  show  any  diver- 
sity of  treatment;  but  the  Borne  used  to  be  the  bed  of  the 
now  diverted  Reira  on  whose  banks  and  bridges  the  populace 
gathered  for  public  festivals  such  as  tournaments  and  autos 
de  fe,  and  the  loggias  and  balconies  seen  here  were  for  the 
accommodation  of  spectators.  In  Palma  as  elsewhere  the 
narrowness  of  the  street  governed  the  type  of  facade  which 
is  here  so  severe  that  even  the  family  escutcheon  is  reserved 
for  the  patio.  The  word  patio  must  not  be  taken  in  the 
Castilian  sense;  it  is  never  lived  in,  has  no  arcaded  gallery 
running  around  it,  and  only  a  portion  of  it  is  open  to  the  sky. 
The  natives  call  it  all  the  zaguan  which  term  in  Castile  would 


370     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

apply  only  to  the  forecourt,  or  covered  passage  from  street 
to  patio.  Incorporated  with  it  and  challenging  the  attention 
the  moment  one  enters  is  the  noble  stairway,  always  the  chief 
architectural  feature  of  the   Palma  house.     On  this  ground 


Fig.   120 — Stairway  in  a  Small  House,  Palma  de  Mallorca. 


floor  the  only  living  rooms  are  the  porter's;  the  rest  of  the 
space  is  given  over  to  stables,  store-rooms,  and  zaguan.  This 
last  frequently  opens  on  two  or  more  streets,  and  such  ampli- 
tude along  with  the  visible  stair,  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
restricted  circulating  space  and  hidden  stair  of  houses  on  the 
mainland.  Most  interesting  among  the  details  of  the  zaguan 
is  the  character  of  the  masonry  itself.     A  very  superior  know- 


OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 


371 


ledge  of  the  science  of  vaulting  Is  exhibited,  and  Intricate 
Intersections  are  handled  with  masterly  skill.  The  confidence 
which  these  old-time  constructors  had  In  stone  astounds  the 
timid  modern  who  would  never  dare  to  trust  the  whole  weleht 


Fig.  121 — Stairway  in  the  Casa  Palmarques,  Palma  de  ]\Iallorca. 

of  the  house  on  these  Isolated  zaguan  columns  and  their  low 
connecting  arches.  The  columns  are  arranged  In  bays  meas- 
uring about  1 8  by  25  feet.  In  a  small  house  one  such  bay 
might  constitute  the  entire  patio  but  In  larger  examples,  the 
Palacio  VIvot  for  Instance,  there  are  six.  To  keep  a  bay  of 
some  450  square  feet  at  a  height  appropriately  low  for  a 
service  story  meant  the  evolving  of  a  special  arch — not  the 
flat  segmental  arch  for  that  was  never  popular  with  the  Spa- 
niards, but  a  segmental  arch  with  elliptical  easings  at  the  spring. 
Two  or  four  of  these  low,  wide  arches  spring  from  one  column 
and  rest  on  a  haunch  block  cut  with  the  necessary  seats  from 
a  single  stone.  Devoid  of  any  moulded  treatment  whatever 
the  shapelessness  of  such  blocks  reminds  one  of  the  crude  bow 


372     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

and  stern  pieces  cut  daily  in  the  Palma  shipyards  from  the 
curiously  twisted  tree  trunks  brought  in  from  the  country. 
Between  the  wide-span  arches  the  actual  ceiling  is  of  wood 
framing,  very  heavy,  for  it  supports  the  piso  principal  flooring 
which  is  of  great  granite  blocks.  The  columns  of  the  zaguan 
are  thick  and  almost  always  of  ungraceful  contour;  their 
capitals  are  a  clumsy  combination  of  Ionic  and  Doric  indiffer- 
ently carved.  A  coarse  mottled  reddish  marble  quarried  on 
the  island  is  used  here  but  the  rest  of  the  house  is  of  the  now 
yellowed  Santani. 

The  Palma  stairway  is  entirely  unlike  the  claustral  type 
seen  in  the  rest  of  Spain.  In  humbler  examples  it  ascends 
in  one  flight  from  the  side  of  the  zaguan  but  in  more  preten- 
tious it  rises  from  the  center  in  a  single  run,  then  divides  into 
two  returning  flights  which  lead  to  the  loggia-like  passage  at 
the  level  of  the  piso  principal  or  main  floor.  Each  example 
presents  some  new  little  attainment  in  masonry,  for  varying 
conditions  demanded  a  distinct  solution  for  each  one.  Where 
it  is  a  long  single  run  it  is  supported  on  an  arch  so  flat  that 
there  hardly  appears  to  be  key  enough  to  hold  the  stones  in 
place.  This  long  sweep  intersects  the  short  semicircular 
arch  of  the  landing  in  such  a  way  that  the  two  appear  to  be 
one  graceful  parabolical  curve,  as  in  the  Oleza  house  in  the 
Calle  Morey.  Another  feat  difllicult  in  stonework  yet  common 
enough  in  Palma  is  the  intersection  of  the  flat  elliptical  arch 
supporting  the  second  story  loggia  with  the  semicircular 
vaulting  behind  upholding  the  stair  itself.  With  such  tho- 
roughness has  this  problem  been  solved  that  out  of  a  hundred 
or  more  cases  it  has  been  necessary  to  reinforce  but  very  few. 
In  addition  to  their  excellent  masonry  all  these  stairways 
possess  a  decorative  feature  encountered  only  in  Palma — the 
simulated  baluster  cut  from  sheet  iron,  as  seen  in  all  the  stairs 
illustrated.  The  eye  is  never  deceived  into  taking  these  flat 
spindles  for  the  round,  and  it  is  precisely  because  they  look 
flat  that  they  are  admirable.  The  profile  is  cut,  with  markings 
following  the  rake  of  the  stair,  from  well-hammered  sheet 
iron  about  three  sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick;  this  flat  piece 
is  never   pierced  with   patterning.     The   slender  newels   and 


373 


OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 


375 


intermediate  supports  are  tipped  with  brass.  Such  balustrades 
constitute  about  the  only  use  of  decorative  ironwork  in  Palma 
architecture.  The  window  reja  is  conspicuously  absent,  and 
the  few  balconies  are  of  Baroque  ironwork. 


PALMA  DE  A^ALLOR.CA  i  PALACIO  VIVOT 


CRjOVND    TLOOtL    PLAN 


JD  ««  >D 


PRINCIPAL    FLOOa    PLAK 


Fig.  122 — Plan  of  the  Casa  del  Marques  de  Vivot,  Palma  de  Mallorca. 

Owing  to  the  building-over  of  most  of  the  zaguan  area  the 
Palma  plan,  as  compared  with  the  Castilian,  permits  of  much 
more  concentration  in  the  piso  principal.  The  plan  of  the 
Vivot  house  shows  this  (Fig.  124).  To  the  principal  floor 
there  are  always  two  entrances  one  at  each  end  of  the  stair 
loggia.  They  are  treated  alike  and  open  into  the  large  salon 
on  one  side  and  into  the  small  recibidor  at  the  other.  The 
loftiness  of  all  these  rooms  is  extraordinary,  26  feet  being  a 
common  height.  The  floor  throughout  is  paved  with  huge 
blocks  of  Santaiii,  which  those  who  tenant  the  house  declare 
to  be  warmer  in  winter  than  either  brick  or  glazed  tiles.  To 
add  to  the  medieval  severity  of  all  this,  window  openings 
were  merely  shuttered  not  glazed;  and  of  the  few  fireplaces 
seen   not  one   was  part  of  the  sixteenth-century  equipment. 


376     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Interior  stairs  leading  to  the  servants'  apartments  give  the 
Palma  plan  a  little  more  coherency  than  the  average  Spanish 
arrangement  but  the  rooms  are  nevertheless  merely  a  suc- 
cession of  vast  chambers  devoid  of  all  architectural  treatment 


Fig.  123 — Lofty  Salon  in  the  Casa  O'Neil,  Palma  de  Mallorca. 


(Fig.  123),  In  many  houses  a  seventeenth-century  frescoist 
has  been  called  in  to  paint  a  frieze  around  the  main  salon 
but  architecturally  all  that  the  rooms  offer  are  their  impres- 
sive dimensions  and  their  solidly  framed  ceilings  of  madera 
encarnada  (red  pine). 

Examining  a  few  of  the  Palma  palaces  In  detail  we  find 
that  the  largest,  the  Vivot,  has  a  facade  reduced  to  nothing 


s- 


o 
1 


o  . 


<  8 

<  -v^ 

o    ;^ 
t'   ^ 

O 

z 

o 

I— I 

> 


377 


OLD  PALACES  IX  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA  379 

more  than  a  stretch  of  wall  pierced  by  four  openings — entrance 
archway  and  three  widely  separated  windows  on  the  main 
floor.  This  house  stands  in  the  Calle  Zavella,  a  ten-foot  street, 
yet  it  has  a  court  measuring  60  feet  by  90  not  counting  the 


Fig.  124 — Patio  of  the  Casa  Vivot,  Palma  de  Alallorca. 

spacious  stairhall.  Thus  on  entering  one  gets  an  impression 
of  great  amplitude,  which  statement  may  be  only  partially 
appreciated  from  Fig.  124.  Six  bays  of  varying  dimensions 
make  up  the  court  but  only  one  is  open  to  the  sky,  the  re- 
maining five  being  covered  by  the  main  floor.  The  marble 
columns  are  a  heavy  stunted  form  of  Corinthian  coarsely  in- 
terpreted. Owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  street  interior 
instead  of  exterior  buttresses  were  frequently  employed  in 
Palma  and  may  be  seen  much  developed  in  this  zaguan. 
There  are  entrances  on  several  streets,  thus  inviting  the 
populace  to  use  this  ground  floor  as  a  thoroughfare;  noisy 
children  play  there  but  such  is  the  democracy  of  the  land 
that  the  family  are  entirely  oblivious.  The  Vivot  stairway  is 
the   most  monumental   in  the  city.     It  rises  in  a  single  cen- 


380     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

tral  run  to  the  first  landing  and  then  continues  in  two  side 
flights.  This  dictated  a  change  in  the  vaulting  sustaining  the 
upper  landing  and  so  we  see  three  spans  instead  of  the  usual 
single  wide  one.  It  is  regrettable  that  the  two  back  supports 
which  form  newels  to  the  stair  are  not  also  columns  instead 
of  the  more  recent  Baroque  posts. 

The  interior  (see  plan,  Fig.  122)  Is  the  typical  series  of 
lofty  salons,  many  with  painted  friezes  of  the  same  style  as 
those  executed  in  the  early  eighteenth  century  by  a  Carthu- 
sian monk  in  the  convent-church  of  Valldemosa.  There  is 
a  quantity  of  interesting  old  furniture,  tapestries,  costumes, 
rich  equestrian  trappings,  and  family  portraits.  While  these 
last  are  never  masterpieces  there  is  a  solemnity  about  them 
which  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  stately  apartments  they 
adorn.  From  this  floor  a  terrace  garden  is  reached  overlooking 
a  large  court  towards  the  front  and  also  the  street  towards 
the  back.  This  is  a  feature  in  so  many  houses  that  it  would 
seem  as  if  the  Mallorquins  demanded  this  little  green  supple- 
ment to  their  severe  stone  zaguans.  Facing  this  palace  is 
another  with  a  good  Plateresque  window  in  the  cresting  of 
which  appears  a  bust  of  Charles  V. 

The  Marques  de  Palmer's  house  in  the  Calle  del  Sol  has 
the  finest  facade  in  the  city  (Plate  LXXII).  Instead  of  having 
merely  an  isolated  window  or  two  on  which  embellishment 
has  been  bestowed  the  entire  front  has  been  treated  architec- 
turally although  the  fact  is  difficult  to  appreciate  owing  to 
the  narrowness  of  Sun  Street.  The  main  and  only  entrance 
does  not  depart  from  the  typical  large  round  arch,  severely 
plain  and  enclosing  very  heavy  paneled  doors  built  up  of  red 
pine.  On  either  side  the  few  windows  are  small  and  have  the 
escutcheon  over  the  architrave.  Thus  far  the  Palmer  house 
is  like  many  of  its  neighbors  but  at  the  main  floor  there  is 
a  difference  for  all  the  windows  are  richly  treated  and  regu- 
larly spaced.  The  end  one  bears  the  legend  "Finished  April 
XI  1556."  Unfortunately  its  companion  at  the  other  end 
has  been  ripped  out  and  sold.  All  adornment  here  exhibits 
a  Flemish  touch  particularly  the  tapering  pilasters,  super- 
posed busts  and  diagonal  panes  of  glass,  these  last  seen  else- 


OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 


381 


where  in  Palma  but  not  on  the  mainland.  As  the  balconies 
on  the  SoUerich  house  are  known  to  have  been  received  from 
Flanders  in  exchange  for  wine  and  oil,  similar  deals  may 
account  for  other  Flemish  details  seen  in  Palma.     In  the  top 


PAL'WA  DL  7W/\LLORCA 

PATIO  :  PALACIO   OLEZA 


Fig.  125 — Details  from  the  Patio  of  the  Oleza  House,  Palma  de  Mallorca. 

story  of  the  Palmer  palace  there  is  a  complete  return  to  insular 
traditions.  The  Gothic  ventilatory  loft  extends  across  the 
entire  front  without  one  attempt  to  classicize  it,  a  remark 
which  could  be  equally  applied  to  eighteenth-century  buildings. 
Through  its  openings  the  simple  roof  construction  is  visible. 
First  come  the  heavy  rafters  6  or  8  feet  on  center,  then  the 
cross  purlins  4x4  inches  and  nailed  to  these  the  battens 
which  sustain  the  ridge-and-furrow  tiles;  battens  are  placed 
about  7  inches  on  center  according  to  the  size  of  the  tiles  and 
these  are  laid  between  them  and  held  in  place  by  their  own 
weight.  This  makes  an  ideal  roof  in  a  climate  which  knows 
but  little  frost  and  no  snow.     In  this  house  the  zaguan  and 


382     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

stair  have  been  too  much  modernized  to  be  Interesting  but 
the  Interior  Is  still  typical — cavernous  salons  with  painted 
friezes  and  hung  with  gorgeous  red  damask,  an  almost  Indis- 
pensable background  for  the  fine  old  furniture.    There  Is  the 


Fig.  126- — Window  in  the  Casa  Villalonga,  Palma  de  Mallorca. 

secondary  or  garden  patio,  small  and  secluded,  and  filled  with 
orange  trees  and  date  palms. 

Another  rambling  palace  is  the  previously  mentioned 
Oleza  in  the  Calle  Morey.  The  facade  was  never  finished  but 
it  has  a  few  good  windows,  the  usual  plain  rounded  entrance, 
and  good  carved  brackets  upholding  the  wooden  eaves.  The 
facade  is  so  long  that  these  latter  with  the  interminable  repeti- 
tion of  the  gallery  motif  underneath  make  a  great  impression 
as  one  turns  into  the  narrow  street.  The  zaguan  here  is  smaller 
than  others  previously  described  and    Its  stair  arrangement 


PLATE  LXXIII 


PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 

CORKICE  OF'THE  CASA  CON^ISTORIAt^ 


ttlc_    rooF 


Wo  o  cL 


CORNICE    OF 
NATIVE  RED 
PINE  VN DEC- 
"ORATED 


PLAN   OF    5  OF  FIT 


la 


1 


lo 


J  CALB       OP     F&ET 
WOODEN  CORNICE  OF  THE  CASA  CONSISTORIAL,  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA. 


383 


OLD  PALACES  IN  PALMA  DE  MALLORCA 


385 


simpler,  all  of  which  imparts  a  feeling  of  domesticity  often 
lacking  in  larger  examples.  To  the  left  and  right  on  entering 
are  the  customary  little  half-story  steps  with  carved  doorways 
leading  to  the  service  portion  of  the  house.     This  mezzanine 


Fig.  127 — Entrance  to  the  Burga-Zaforteza  House  on  the  Borne,  Palma 

de  Mallorca. 


scheme  is  made  possible  by  building  the  stables  and  cellars 
partly  below  grade.  The  stairway  here  is  particularly  grace- 
ful in  form  (see  Plate  LXXI).  Compared  with  those  of  the 
Vivot  or  Morell-SoUerich  houses,  both  of  the  divided  type, 
the  single  stair  is  more  suitable  for  this  reduced  zaguan.  It 
begins  with  a  short  run,  turns  a  right  angle  and  makes  a  long 
run  to  the  stair  loggia.  This  last  run  faces  the  zaguan  and 
permits  one  on  entering  to  appreciate  the  subtle  sweep  of  its 
supporting  arch.     It  is  difficult  to  convey  either  by  words  or 


25 


386     SPANISH  ARC  HITECTURE  OF  THE  XM  CENTURY 

drawings  the  system  of  these  vaulted  stairs  and  landings; 
but  it  hardly  seems  overstating  the  matter  to  say  that  stone 
surfaces  were  bent,  warped,  twisted,  by  these  island  builders 
with  as  much  facility  as  if  they  had  been  of  plastic  material. 
For  adornment  the  stair  depends  wholly  upon  its  sheet  iron 
balustrade.  The  only  other  feature  to  be  noted  in  the  patio 
besides  the  stairs  and  the  two  carved  small  doorways  is  the 
Plateresque  window  inserted  in  the  stucco  wall  near  the  well; 
this  shows  some  beautiful  detail  which  is  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  coarse  carving  of  the  capitals.  Like  many  other  win- 
dows it  is  based  on  Gothic  forms  though  the  little  jamb  colon- 
nettes  here  have  not  the  Gothic  bases  so  often  seen.  From 
the  stair  loggia  one  enters  the  Oleza  house  by  a  vestibulo 
which  surpasses  most  of  its  contemporaries  in  dimensions  and 
impressiveness.  This  room  is  simplicity  itself  in  treatment — 
whitewashed  walls  hung  with  solemn  old  portraits,  a  floor  of 
huge  stone  slabs  guiltless  of  a  rug,  a  lofty  ceiling  framed  with 
gigantic  timbers  of  redwood,  and  severe  unglazed  casements 
protected  by  stout  wooden  shutters. 

There  are  many  more  examples  to  examine  In  the  city — 
the  Casa  O'Neill,  the  Burga-Zaforteza,  the  Villalonga,  the 
Sollerich,  this  last  of  the  eighteenth  century  but  hardly  differ- 
ing from  the  others  except  in  its  French  furniture  of  the  Empire 
period  and  its  exterior  loggia  overlooking  the  Borne.  In 
practically  every  case  the  same  characteristics  will  be  noted; 
there  is  no  finely  executed  carving,  no  style,  no  period  of 
development.  In  poverty  of  design  all  are  much  alike,  and 
all  have  the  homely  attractiveness  of  simplicity  and  good 
construction.  In  their  very  absence  of  refinement  they  have 
attained  sufficient  homogeneity  to  entitle  them  to  consideration 
as  a  separate  type. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II 
Philip's  interest  in  architecture  while  yet  prince — the  chill 

HE   CAST    over    PLATERESQUE FORETASTE    OF   HIS    PREFERRED   STYLE   TO 

BE    FOUND    IN    THE    HOSPITAL    OF    ST.    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST   IN   TOLEDO — ITS 
FOUNDER  ARCHBISHOP    TAVERA    RENOUNCES    COVARRUBIAS    AND    SELECTS 

THE   PRIEST  BARTOLOME   BUSTAMENTE BUSTAMENTE  AND  THE  MAESTROS 

OF    THE    CATHEDRAL SIMPLICITY    OF    THE    PLAN — THE    CHURCH    OF    THE 

HOSPITAL    CONTAINING    ARCHBISHOP    TAVERA's    TOMB    BY   BERRUGUETE — 
THE    ONLY    COMPLETED    QUADRANGLE    OF    THE    PLAN — THE     UNFINISHED 

FAQADE  and  later  ADDITIONS THE  ROYAL  ALCAZAR  OF  TOLEDO  AND  THE 

CHANGE   OF   STYLE   IN  THE   PLATERESQUE  ARCHITECTS  EMPLOYED  ON  IT 

THE   PATIO   BY  COVARRUBIAS  AND   THE   STAIRWAY   BY   VILLALPANDO — THE 
PROVINCIAL  HOSPITAL  OF  SEVILLE — THE  PALACE  AT  SALDANUELA 


388 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II 

THE  Plateresque  of  Spain  may  be  cited  as  an  architec- 
tural style  that  had  no  decline.  At  a  moment  when 
it  was  far  from  showing  deterioration,  when  in  fact 
it  was  full  of  vitality,  a  monarch  of  overpoweringly  cold  and 
rigid  temper  ascended  the  throne.  Philip  II  ruled  from  1556 
to  1598  but  even  before  his  reign  actually  commenced  his 
father  had  given  him  the  powers  of  regent,  so  that  for  over 
half  a  century  he  was  in  a  position  to  impress  an  inflexible 
sternness  on  the  Spanish  court.  This  was  reflected  in  all  the 
arts  but  most  specially  in  architecture  to  which  the  monarch 
gave  a  great  deal  of  his  personal  attention.  In  his  cabinet  in 
the  Madrid  Alcazar  he  was  surrounded  by  plans  of  the  royal 
edifices  in  course  of  erection  or  reformation,  and  used  to  dock 
them  of  all  levity  in  the  shape  of  ornament.  Thorough 
constructiveness,  however,  he  always  insisted  on;  structural 
beauty  at  least  he  was  able  to  appreciate  else  he  would  never 
have  stopped  for  two  weeks  in  Merida  examining  the  Roman 
ruins.  A  law  was  made  that  no  public  building  should  be 
undertaken  without  first  submitting  the  plans  to  the  state 
architect  Juan  de  Herrera,  who  met  with  his  royal  master 
twice  a  week  and  received  as  much  of  Philip's  attention  as  did 
the  prime  minister.  Small  wonder  that  to  this  new  order  of 
things — to  these  initiators  of  the  Estilo  Desornavieniado — 
the  exuberant  and  pictorial  charm  of  Plateresque  were  an- 
tipathetic. Architecture  ceased  to  be  spontaneous;  the 
products  of  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  show  a 
cold  standardization. 

The  great  monument  of  Philip's  reign  is  the  royal  monas- 

389 


390     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

tery  called  the  Escorial.  This  had  no  direct  predecessor 
but  a  foretaste  of  its  severity  may  be  found  in  the  Hospital 
de  San  Juan  Bautista  in  Toledo  and  in  the  reforms  made  in 
the  Alcazar  in  the  same  city;  also  in  several  religious  monu- 
ments in  outlying  districts  like  Ucles  and  Alcantara.  Of  these 
early  stages  of  classic  the  Toledan  examples  here  described 
present  a  complete  break  with  Enrique  de  Egas's  innovation 
in  that  same  city.  They  are  of  granite  exclusively,  which 
in  itself  forbade  the  wealth  of  carving  that  had  enlivened 
Plateresque.  Pedantic  and  without  any  of  the  sentiment 
which  Machuca  infused  into  his  early  classic  attempt  at 
Granada,  they  nevertheless  command  attention  for  their 
dignity  and  solidity.  It  is  significant  that  the  first  distin- 
guished patron  of  the  new  order  in  Toledo,  the  same  cardinal- 
archbishop  who  had  sanctioned  Covarrubias's  Plateresque  in 
Alcala,  commissioned  the  first  classic  structure  after  having 
come  in  close  touch  with  the  already  somber  Prince  Philip. 
It  was  about  1541  that  Don  Juan  Tavera,  Archbishop  of 
Toledo,  Grand  Inquisitor,  and  Governor  of  Castile  and  Leon, 
decided  to  give  Toledo  another  hospital.  Heedless  of  the 
warning  offered  by  Mendoza's  unfinished  foundation  he  too 
ordered  an  immense  structure.  This  is  the  half-built  Hospital 
de  San  Juan  Bautista  (Plate  LXXIV)  popularly  known  as 
the  Hospital  Afuera  (outside)  from  its  position  outside  the 
city  walls. 

For  architect,  Tavera  turned  from  Covarrubias  and  chose 
his  secretary,  a  priest  named  Bartolome  Bustamente.  Busta- 
mente  had  accompanied  the  cardinal  to  Naples  in  1535  when 
he  went  there  to  receive  Charles  after  the  conquest  of  Tunis. 
That  Bustamente  had  great  feeling  for  the  simplicity  of  Italian 
his  work  shows;  also  that  he  had  a  fine  understanding  of  plan 
and  construction;  but  there  is  no  imagination  in  the  product 
and  one  recognizes  the  approaching  extinction  of  the  creative 
spark.  As  to  the  extent  of  his  connection  with  the  hospital 
there  is  the  usual  amount  of  confusion.  Doctor  Salazar  de 
Mendoza  who  published  a  life  of  Cardinal  Tavera  in  1603 
says:  "Through  Bustamente's  hands  passed  all  the  drawings 
nd   plans   of  the   hospital   because   he  was   a   very  singular 


PLATE    LXXIV 


HOSPITAL  DE  SAN  JUAN  BAUTISTA,  TOLEDO. 
Bartolome  Bustamente,  Architect,  15 41. 


391 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II  393 

architect";  but  the  same  author  also  states  that  It  was  "built 
by  the  maestros  mayores  of  the  cathedral,  specially  Francisco 
Gonzales  de  Lara  and  Nicolas  de  Vergara  and  his  son,  who  were 
all  valiant  in  this  art."     A  modern  writer,  the  Vizconde  de 


Fig.  128 — Plan  of  the  Hospital  de  San  Juan  Bautista,  Toledo. 
Bartolome  Bustamente,  Architect,  1541  et  seq. 

Palazuelos,  declares  In  his  Guia  de  Toledo  that  it  was  not  until 
Bustamente  had  entered  the  Jesuit  Society  in  1552  that  the 
maestros  of  the  cathedral  intervened,  which  was  probably 
the  case.  These  Vergaras  were  typical  Castilians  from  Burgos 
and  accustomed  to  the  Spanish  version  of  Renaissance,  whereas 
the  entire  conception  of  the  San  Juan  Bautista  is  so  Italian 
that  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  learned  priest's  authorship, 
the  others  having  been  called  in  to  assist  in  the  practical  working 
out  of  the  scheme. 


394     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  original  plan  was  for  an  edifice  covering  an  area  of 
260  by  350  feet  and  embracing  two  vast  quadrangles.  Fig.  128 
indicates  how  much  of  this  was  carried  out.  The  first  quad- 
rangle is  divided  into  two  patios  by  means  of  a  two-storied 
arcade — a  motif  not  met  with  elsewhere  in  Spain  and  here 
used  on  a  much  more  monumental  scale  than  in  any  example 
in  Italy.  In  the  second  and  unfinished  quadrangle  stands  the 
chapel  on  axis  with  the  gallery.  It  was  built  between  1561 
and  1624  and  is  in  reality  a  fair-sized  church  with  a  lofty 
dome,  bare  in  treatment  and  interesting  chiefly  because  it 
holds  the  cardinal's  sumptuous  tomb  by  Berruguete  (Plate 
LXXV)  and  his  fine  portrait  by  El  Greco  (who  also  designed 
the  large  retablo).  The  tomb  is  conceived  in  a  much  more 
classic  spirit  than  this  sculptor's  earlier  productions  thereby 
losing  some  of  his  Spanish  quality.  It  was  his  last  work,  for 
he  died  while  at  it  "in  the  room  under  the  clock"  according 
to  the  hospital  archives.  In  this  rear  quadrangle  nothing 
else  but  the  church  was  ever  completed  and  the  rest  is  in  a 
neglected  condition;  but  the  first  enclosure  with  its  arcade 
and  two  Doric  patios  was  finished  under  Bustamente  and, 
although  academic  in  execution,  is  an  impressive  arrangement. 
The  arcaded  gallery  is  vaulted  and  carries  around  the  lines 
of  the  patio  each  side  of  it  (see  Fig.  130).  Every  material 
but  stone  was  banished  from  the  structure,  and  the  change 
from  trabeation  with  its  accompanying  decorated  wooden 
ceiling  marks  one  of  the  most  striking  departures  from  earlier 
Spanish  architecture;  yet  with  all  its  stoniness  the  Hospital 
de  Afuera  escaped  that  cold  precision  which  dominates  later 
classic  buildings.  The  interior  is  too  strictly  utilitarian  to 
detain  one,  but  a  visit  to  the  pharmacy  is  worth  while  for  the 
sake  of  its  original  supply  of  Talavera  apothecary  jars  with 
their  old-fashioned  contents  indicated  in  quaint  Gothic  letter- 
ing. Along  the  north  side  of  the  building  where  the  grade 
falls  away  is  a  series  of  buttresses  so  gigantic  as  to  contain  stair- 
ways and  small  rooms.  A  descent  to  the  vast  cellars  and  store- 
rooms reveals  the  very  impressive  masonry  of  the  soubassement 
where,  curiously  enough,  some  of  the  vaulting  is  still  Gothic. 

If  Padre  Bartolome  had  remained  at  his  work  long  enough 


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395 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II  397 

to  finish  off  the  facade  with  the  stone  cornice  appropriate  to 
its  Florentine  design  and  treatment,  one  would  not  have  to 
regret  the  patched-out  top,  along  with  a  poor  eighteenth- 
century  portal,  which  prevents  us  from  justly  appreciating 


Fig.  129 — Arcade  Between    Two  Patios  of  the  Hospital  de  San  Juan 

Bautista    (Afuera),    Toledo. 

Fray  Bartolome  Bustamente,  Architect,  15 41. 

the  architect.  The  front  is  a  forceful  design  in  rustication, 
a  practice  seldom  encountered  in  Spain  except  in  a  decorative 
way.  But  it  is  the  fenestration  most  of  all  that  dissociates 
the  facade  from  previous  buildings  of  the  century,  for  it  is 
absolutely  symmetrical.  While  in  this  case  the  disposition 
is  excellent,  it  proved  a  bad  precedent;  soon  after,  fenestration 
degenerated  into  multiple  tiresome  openings  that  corresponded 
to  no  interior  requirement  and  the  charm  of  blank  wall  treat- 
ment was  forever  lost  sight  of. 


398     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Bustamente  appears  to  have  done  some  building  in  Anda- 
lusia also  and  it  is  frequently  stated  that  he  built  the  chapel 
of  Seville  University — an  edifice  so  undistinctive  that  anyone 
might  have  built  it.     At  any  rate,  his  most  important  incur- 


FiG.  130 — Window  in  the  Hospital  de  San  Juan  Bautista,  Toledo. 

sion  into  the  field  of  architecture  was  the  Hospital  in  Toledo. 
Little  is  known  about  him  though  he  moved  in  the  most  distin- 
guished milieu  of  the  day.  He  was  learned — one  of  the  early 
graduates  of  Cardinal  Jimenez's  University  of  Alcala.  After 
entering  the  Compania  de  Jesus  (the  Jesuit  Society)  he  ac- 
companied its  vicar  general  Francisco  de  Borja  on  his  visit  to 
Charles  V  in  his  monastery  at  Yuste. 

The  imposing  Alcazar  of  Toledo  is  a  much  more  difficult 
building  to  study  in  its  relation  to  the  period  in  question,  it 
being  an  amorphous  castle  of  several  styles,  burnt  down  and 
restored  many  times  (see  plan.  Fig.  131).  It  was  in  1557 
that  Charles  V  appointed  Alonso  de  Covarrubias  and  Luis  de 
Vega  to  remodel  both  It  and  the  royal  Alcazar  of  Madrid, 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II  .'599 

the  curious  order  reading  that  the  architects  were  to  be  paid 
twenty-five  thousand  maravedises  each,  "with  the  which 
each  was  to  reside  six  months  with  the  respective  works,  three 
months  at  a  time;  and  that  besides  this  sum  they  should  be 


Fig.   131 — Plan  of  the  Real  Alcdzar,  Toledo. 

paid  on  every  day  of  the  said  six  months  four  reales  for  main- 
tenance." Afterwards  Charles  with  the  hope  of  hastening 
matters  decided  to  dissociate  the  collaborators,  allotting  the 
Madrid  castle  (now  destroyed)  to  De  Vega  and  the  Toledo  to 
Covarrubias.  Covarrubias,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  at  the' 
time  maestro  mayor  de  las  ohras  reales  and  was  also  busy 
on  the  Alcala  palace  for  Cardinal  Tavera.  Whether,  before 
this  change  was  made  by  the  impatient  emperor,  the  two 
architects  had  together  finished  the  Toledo  design  or  whether 
it  was  the  idea  of  Covarrubias  after  he  had  begun  to  work 
alone,  is  hard  to  say.     Llaguno  takes  the  former  view  but 


400     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

gives  no  reason  for  doing  so;  and  further  claims  that  the  patio 
was  executed  under  Gonzales  de  Lara,  then  Caspar  de  Vega, 
and  lastly  Francisco  de  Villalpando  who  finished  it  in  1554. 
Villalpando  also  designed  the  grand  stairway,  though  it  looks 
far  more  like  Herrera's  work.  These  points  are  difficult  to 
settle  now  since  those  touches  which  might  reveal  the  various 
authorships,  have  disappeared  and  only  the  larger  outlines 
are  left.  The  Alcazar  was  burned  in  the  war  of  the  Spanish 
Succession  (1710).  After  Cardinal  Lorenzana  had  made  a 
thorough  restoration  at  enormous  cost  the  French  set  fire  to 
it  in  1 8 10;  and  in  1887  it  was  the  victim  of  a  third  conflagra- 
tion. On  each  of  these  sinister  occasions  it  was  the  stately 
patio  of  Covarrubias  that  sufi^ered  most.  The  massive  out- 
side granite  walls  stood  the  ordeal  better  but  offer  little  of 
special  architectural  interest.  There  is  a  portal  of  archaic 
charm  on  the  west  side  (ordered  in  the  reign  of  the  Catholic 
Sovereigns)  and  attributed  by  some  to  Covarrubias  and  by 
others  to  his  brother-in-law,  the  younger  Enrique  de  Egas. 
Also  of  interest  are  the  portal  and  windows  of  the  north  side, 
built,  it  is  said,  by  the  elder  Egas  but  too  dry  and  perfunctory 
to  be  his.  The  sculpture  on  this  portal  is  by  Juan  de  Mena 
and  while  very  correct,  it  too  is  lifeless.  In  fact  the  only 
spirited  note  on  the  facade  is  the  carving  on  the  first  story 
windows  by  Berruguete. 

The  most  monumental  feature  of  the  interior  is  the  grand 
stairway  leading  from  the  rear  of  the  patio.  In  its  dimensions 
it  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  in  Europe  and  if  by  Villal- 
pando, shows  an  appreciation  of  classic  simplicity  not  to  be 
found  in  his  ironwork.  This  refers  to  the  reja  of  the  capilla 
mayor  of  Toledo  Cathedral  (1548)  which,  while  full  of  charm- 
ing detail,  is  hardly  satisfactory  in  the  ensemble.  It  has 
been  recently  established  that  this  rejero  and  architect  was 
one  of  a  famous  family  of  plaster  workers  in  Valladolid  and 
this  may  explain  the  delicacy  of  his  ironwork;  as  to  his  grasp 
of  the  broader  principles  of  architecture  exhibited  in  the 
Alcazar  stairway,  it  may  be  due  to  his  having  completed  a 
short  time  before  (1551)  his  translation  of  Serlio.  The  stair, 
still  denuded  of  all  treatment  as  a  result  of  the  last  fire,  is 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II 


401 


imposing  now  only  through  its  fine  proportions  and  its  sohd 
masonry.  The  patio  is  less  colossal  but  nevertheless  of 
considerable  dignity.  Built  entirely  of  granite  its  coarse 
detail  is  well  suited  to  that  stone,  and  the  corners  where  the 


Fig.  132 — Patio  of  the  Real  Alcazar,  Toledo. 
Attributed  to  Alonso  de  Covanubias. 

arcading  intersects  offer  a  particularly  good  solution  of  this 
always  perplexing  problem.  Throughout  the  patio  classic 
precedents  prevail  (see  Fig.  132);  still  there  is  a  departure 
from  cut  and  dried  rules  as  laid  down  by  Vignola  which  has 
resulted  in  an  interest  sadly  lacking  in  later  day  work.  The 
triple  arch  motif  (Fig.  133)  by  which  the  patio  is  entered  is 
specially  good  and  its  mould  sections  worthy  of  notice.  In 
the  little  pineapple  pendents  of  the  soffit  of  the  arch  may  be 
observed  a  free  touch  undeniably  Spanish. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  student  who  examines 


402     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

the  Alcazar  that  it  is  not  a  sign  of  the  men  employed  but  of 
the  times.  What  Covarrubias  left  there  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  the  versatile  Plateresque  architect  who  designed 
the  Capilla  de  los  Reyes  Nuevos  and  the  patio  at  Alcala; 


Fig.  133 — Entrance  from  Vestibule  to  Patio  of  the  Real  Alcazar,  Toledo. 


similarly  the  massive  stairway  seems  wholly  unrelated  to  that 
exuberant  offshoot  of  the  Villalpando  yeseros  who  created  the 
wealth  of  minute  Plateresque  ornament  on  the  reja  and  pul- 
pits in  the  cathedral.  In  this  center  of  Castile  a  coming 
event  was  casting  its  shadow  before.  Philip,  whose  earnest 
study  of  the  classic  must  be  admitted,  had  begun  while  still 
a  prince  to  interfere  with  his  father's  architects;  as  for  instance 
when  he  ordered  Covarrubias  not  to  leave  Toledo  for  any  other 
work  but  to  devote  all  his  attention  to  the  Alcazar. 

This  same  sobering  influence  was  early  felt  even  beyond 
Castile  for  in  Seville  we  find  Martin  Gainza  and  Hernan  Ruiz, 
two  men  who  had  produced  rich  unbridled  Plateresque  in 
the  cathedral,  suddenly  conforming  to  the  royal  taste.     Their 


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THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II  M)5 

Hospital  Provincial  or  de  la  Sangre,  on  which  Ruiz  was  work- 
ing at  his  death  in  1559,  is  a  great  bare  rectangle  accentuated 
at  the  corners  by  low  towers.  The  facade  (Fig.  134)  is  divided 
into  equal  stories  with  no  variation  of  motif  from  one  end 


Fig.  134 — Hospital  Provincial  (de  la  Sangre),  Seville. 
Martin  Gainza  and  Herndn  Ruiz,  Architects,  IS 59  ct  seq^ 

to  the  other  except  a  poor  entrance  of  later  date;  but  if  like 
all  the  work  of  this  period  it  is  monotonous,  it  is  impressively 
so.  The  interior  is  lifted  out  of  dullness  by  the  several  bright 
patios  treated  in  ajulejos,  stucco,  and  marble.  The  plan  is 
so  direct  and  practical  that  it  might  well  serve  for  a  similar 
institution  to-day.  Only  on  the  chapel  was  anything  archi- 
tectural attempted.     This  is  said  to  have  been  designed  by 


400     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

Ruiz  who  will  be  recalled  for  his  upper  stage  of  the  Giralda.  It 
is  distinctive,  but  of  that  calculated  precision  seen  in  the 
following  century  in  the  Sagrario  adjacent  to  the  cathedral 
and  in  the  Hospital  de  la  Caridad.     Just  to  what  extent  Gainza 


Fig.  135 — Ruined  Palace  at  Saldantiela,  near  Burgos. 

was  responsible  in  the  Hospital  Provincial  is  not  known  but 
there  is  nothing  here  to  suggest  the  cooperation  of  the  archi- 
tect who  designed  the  royal  chapel  of  the  cathedral  with  its 
opulent  ornamentation.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  many 
architects  followed  each  other  on  both  the  hospital  and  the 
chapel  mentioned;  there  is  record  of  an  Italian  employed  by 
the  Duke  of  Alba  being  called  in  on  Ruiz's  death,  and  Cean 
Bermudez  mentions  still  another.  A  late  Sevillian  structure 
of  more  classic  ambitions  is  the  chapel  of  the  university  built 
for  the  Jesuits  between  1565  and  1579  and  long  erroneously 
attributed  to  Bartolome  Bustamente.  The  exterior,  a  massive 
pile  of  brick  crowned  by  a  polychrome  cupola,  is  more  inter- 
esting than  the  very  orthodox  interior.  Also  in  brick  is 
Herrera's  Lonja,  described  in  the  next  chapter.  Fig.  135  is 
an  example  of  domestic  architecture  in  this  late  style,  but 
almost  too  interesting  to  be  typical.     It  is  in  Saldafiuela  on 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PHILIP  II  407 

the  highroad  from  Burgos  to  Lerma  (in  which  town  are  the 
ruins  of  the  vast  palace  of  the  Dukes  of  Lerma).  The  popular 
and  unrepeatable  name  of  the  Saldanuela  house  indicates  the 
use  it  was  put  to  or  for  which,  perhaps,  it  was  deliberately  built. 
The  architect  is  unknown  and  the  only  clue  to  his  client  is  the 
fact  that  the  corner  consols  in  the  ball-room  windows  have 
portraits  said  to  be  of  Philip  II  and  the  intriguing  Princess 
Eboli.  These  place  it  well  in  the  latter  half  of  the  century, 
(although  Sefior  Lamperez  prefers  1530).  With  no  house  near 
it  and  an  extensive  huerta  behind,  it  is  more  like  the  isolated 
Italian  villa  than  any  other  Spanish  example,  yet  like  all 
Spanish  palaces  it  stands  full  on  the  dusty  highroad  without 
approach  of  any  sort.  Although  much  later  than  the  Hospital 
del  Rey  in  Burgos  it  too  upsets  geographical  theories  by  bearing 
more  resemblance  to  the  Salamantine  than  the  Burgos  school. 
The  west  or  main  facade  is  unsymmetrical,  being  flanked  on 
the  south  by  a  huge  bare  bastion  dating  from  the  time  of 
Peter  the  Cruel  who  had  a  castle  here.  Much  of  the  original 
effect  is  lost  by  the  blocking  up  of  the  loggia  but  fortunately 
a  charming  little  window  and  balcony  at  the  north  end  remain 
untouched.  In  plan  the  house  consists  of  the  customary 
patio  and  surrounding  galleries  from  which  the  rooms  open, 
and  the  galleries  are  connected  by  a  claustral  stairway.  The 
patio  is  severe  but  relieved  on  the  south  wall  by  an  interesting 
motif  of  blind  arches  between  which  are  little  columns  in 
half  relief  with  delicate  capitals.  None  of  the  apartments 
are  complete  enough  to  reward  inspection,  for  the  building 
was  never  finished  and  suffers  from  extreme  dilapidation. 
It  is  now  a  farmhouse  with  a  hopeless  confusion  of  agricultural 
implements  and  domestic  animals  in  all  the  lower  rooms. 
There  are  other  isolated  palaces  throughout  Castile  which 
have  shaken  off  the  levities  of  Plateresque  to  a  much  greater 
degree  than  this.  Indeed  one  can  account  for  Philip's  retain- 
ing it  here  only  as  a  concession  to  the  lady  in  question;  but 
in  domestic  work  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  in  civil,  is  the 
Estilo  Desornamentado  unsympathetic;  it  resulted  in  big  bare 
houses  devoid  of  all  charm. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

JUAN  DE  HERRERA  AND  THE  LATTER  PART  OF  THE 

CENTURY 

THE  ESCORIAL  THE  GREAT  MONUMENT  OF  PHH.IP'S  FEIGN — HIS  SEVERAL 
MOTIVES  FOR  BUILDING  IT — THE  ESCORIAL  COMPARED  WITH  THE  VATI- 
CAN— Philip's  choice  of  juan  bautista  de  toledo  as  architect — the 
monarch's   solicitude  in   choosing  an  appropriate   site  for   the 

monastery JUAN       BAUTISTA's       SPLENDID       SOUBASSEMENT — GRIDIRON 

PLAN  OF  THE  BUILDING — PHILIP'S  PROMPTITUDE  IN  ORDERING  FURNISH- 
INGS AND  MATERIALS — HIS  DECISION  TO  INCREASE  THE  CAPACITY  OF  THE 
MONASTERY    AND    THE    ADDITION    OF    A    THIRD    STORY — EARLY    DEATH    OF 

JUAN     BAUTISTA HIS     SUCCESSOR    JUAN     DE     HERRERA,     AN    ASTURIAN 

COMPLETION  OF  THE  COLOSSAL  STRUCTURE — FOREIGN  ARCHITECTS  CLAW- 
ING TO  HAVE  BUILT  IT — ITS  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENT  NOT  IN  ARCHITECTURE 
AS  A  FINE  ART,  BUT  IN  SCHEME — DOME  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  RELATION  TO 
MICHELANGELO'S    AND    THE     ELDER     SANGALLO's — HERRERA's    ARCHITEC- 

TURALIZING     OF     THE     PRINCIPAL     FACADE ANALYSIS     OF     THE     PLAN 

COMPARISON  BETWEEN  JUAN  BAUTISTA  AND  HERRERA — REMAINING  PRO- 
DUCTIONS OF    THESE    TWO — HERRERA's    CATHEDRAL    IN    VALLADOLID — HIS 

SMALL    PALACE    IN    PLASENCIA THE    PUENTE    DE    SEGOVIA    IN    MADRID 

THE  LONJA  IN  SEVILLE — THOROUGH  CONFORMITY  OF  ALL  IMPORTANT 
NEW  EDIFICES  TO  HERRERA's  AND  PHILIP'S  TYPE  AND  UTTER  EXTINCTION 
OF   THE   CREATIVE   SPARK 


408 


CHAPTER  XIV 

JUAN  DE  HERRERA  AND  THE  LATTER  PART  OF  THE 

CENTURY 

THE  Escorlal  (Plate  LXXVH)  is  often  referred  to  as  the 
eighth  wonder  of  the  world.  Its  magnitude,  its  sim- 
plicity, and  its  marvelous  setting  against  the  grim 
granite  mountains  entitle  it  to  the  proud  claim.  It  was  built 
when  Spain  had  about  reached  her  greatest  limits  of  expansion. 
Philip  II  was  ruling  over  not  only  Spain,  but  also  the  Low 
Countries  including  the  French  duchy  of  Burgundy,  the 
Rousillon  in  Provence,  Naples,  Sicily,  Milan,  Sardinia,  north- 
ern Africa,  and,  vastest  of  all,  America.  Small  wonder  that 
the  monarch  of  a  realm  where  nunca  se  ponia  el  sol  should 
create  an  eighth  marvel  for  the  modern  world.  As  to  the 
motives  that  prompted  him  to  build  El  Real  Monasterio  de 
San  Lorenzo  (commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  little 
town  beside  it)  there  are  various  versions.  Power  like  Philip's 
could  not  go  long  undisputed.  Hardly  had  his  father  abdi- 
cated in  his  favor  when  Pope  Paul  IV,  chafing  under  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Spaniards  in  Italy,  claimed  that  their  sovereign 
had  lost  his  right  to  Naples  by  not  paying  sufficient  tribute 
to  the  Holy  See.  The  Pope  called  upon  Henry  II  of  France 
for  aid  and  Philip  in  reply  brought  across  the  Channel  the 
troops  of  his  English  wife  and  cousin  Mary  Tudor.  The 
French  were  defeated  at  the  first  encounter — St.  Quentin— 
on  August  lo,  1557.  It  was  mainly  to  commemorate  this 
victory,  that,  according  to  some,  the  Escorial  was  built;  and 
in  order  to  make  reparation  to  St.  Laurence  whose  monastery 
had  been  destroyed  by  Philip's  forces  (a  "military  necessity") 
the  huge  new  building  was  dedicated  to  that  saint  and  martyr. 

409 


410     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

However,  given  Philip's  unlimited  resources  and  his  very- 
genuine  devotion  to  architecture  it  is  quite  probable  that  he 
would  have  perpetuated  himself  in  a  colossal  foundation,  the 
St.  Quentin  victory  or  no.  And  given,  furthermore,  his  intense 
piety,  such  a  monument  would  inevitably  have  been  ecclesias- 
tical. Being  bound  by  the  terms  of  his  father's  will  to  build 
a  mausoleum  for  the  Hapsburgs  he  decided  to  combine  this 
with  a  monastery  for  the  Hieronymites,  an  order  newly  arrived 
in  Spain  and  much  favored  by  the  late  Emperor.  But  even 
all  these  circumstances  would  not  explain  the  hugeness  of  the 
granite  pile  in  the  Guadarramas  without  closer  examination  of 
Philip's  attitude  toward  the  great  European  question  of  the  day 
— the  Reformation.  While  still  merely  regent  Philip  was  ardu- 
ously occupied  in  stamping  out  heresy.  His  imperial  father 
had  resolved  to  make  Spain  the  champion  of  the  Catholic  faith 
against  the  fast-gaining  Lutheranism;  and  from  his  cloistered 
retreat  of  San  Jeronimo  de  Yuste  Charles  wrote  and  coun- 
seled his  successor  "to  burn  the  contumacious  and  of  those 
who  recanted  to  cut  off  their  heads  without  exception  what- 
ever as  to  rank."  It  may  have  been  as  an  earnest  of  his 
inflexible  purpose  to  maintain  Catholicism  triumphant  that 
PhiUp  conceived  the  grandest  monument  to  the  faith  ever 
built — "Catholicism  firmly  planted  on  the  earth,  sure  of 
itself,  exclusive,  immense."  Only  the  Vatican,  with  St.  Peter's, 
could  be  compared  to  the  Escorial  in  scale  and  solemnity; 
and  while  there  is  not  one  one-hundredth  of  the  art  in  the 
Spanish  that  there  is  in  the  Italian  monument,  still  the  former, 
as  a  majestic  and  awe-inspiring  scheme,  comes  nearer  to  the 
grandeur  of  antiquity  than  anything  erected  in  Italy  during 
the  Renaissance. 

Once  the  idea  had  shaped  itself  in  Philip's  mind  he  prose- 
cuted it  with  the  same  pious  vigor  that  he  devoted  to  the 
eradicating  of  heresy.  While  still  in  Flanders  he  decided 
upon  his  architect;  not  one  of  those  who  had  been  working 
under  him  on  the  various  royal  palaces — Covarrubias,  the 
younger  Machuca,  Villalpando — for  they  had  not  studied 
antiquity  at  the  fountain-head;  but  in  Naples  (Spanish  terri- 
tory, it   must   be    recalled)   there  was  living  and   working  a 


411 


JUAN  DE  HERRERA  413 

Spaniard  who  had  been  employed  on  St.  Peter's  by  Michelangelo 
and  whom  the  Viceroy  had  called  to  his  service.  This  archi- 
tect was  Juan  Bautista  de  Toledo,  who  is  said  to  have  laid 
out  many  streets  and  squares  in  Naples  and  to  have  built  the 
Church  of  Santiago,  the  Palace  of  San  Erasmo,  and  the  Vice- 
roy's palace.  In  1559  he  received  Philip's  summons,  sent 
from  Ghent,  to  meet  the  sovereign  in  Madrid. 

The  choosing  of  a  site  was  a  much  greater  difficulty  for 
the  monarch  than  the  choosing  of  an  architect.  Many  months 
were  passed  in  seeking  a  spot  that  would  be  salubrious  and 
near  enough  to  serve  as  a  retreat  from  Madrid.  To  these 
conditions  must  be  added  another  for  which  the  king  should 
receive  more  credit  than  is  generally  given  him — the  site 
must  be  austere  and  noble,  for  no  other  would  be  worthy  of 
the  ever  expanding  project  that  now  possessed  the  royal  builder 
completely. '  At  last  it  was  found  some  thirty  miles  north- 
west of  Madrid  on  a  southern  spur  of  the  Guadarrama  Moun- 
tains and  at  an  altitude  of  some  three  thousand  four  hundred 
feet.  It  overlooks  a  miserable  little  hamlet  called  El  Escorial 
(the  place  where  are  thrown  out  the  scorics,  or  refuse,  of 
mines).  Meanwhile  Juan  Bautista  de  Toledo  was  busy  with 
the  plans  and  made  a  complete  model  in  wood.  All  of  1562 
and  the  spring  of  1563  were  passed  in  leveling  and  draining 
the  site  and  laying  the  gigantic  foundations  which  comprise 
a  huge  and  splendidly  built  substructure  of  masonry.  To  all 
this  Juan  Bautista  gave  his  closest  attention  and  too  much 
cannot  be  said  for  the  thoroughness  and  skill  of  the  work. 
In  order  to  minimize  the  exposure  to  the  fierce  winds  and  to 
give  a  maximum  of  sun  to  the  royal  apartments,  he  did  not 
orient  his  building  exactly  with  the  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass.  His  plan  (Plate  LXXVIII)  was  simplicity  itself 
— a  rectangle  of  675  feet  by  530  feet  with  a  square  tower  at 

'  Professor  Justi,  after  qualifying  the  building  as  a  monument  of  repulsive  dryness, 
an  inevitable  result  of  Philip's  niggling  criticism  and  liis  somber  habit  of  docking  the 
designs  submitted  to  him  of  all  that  seemed  over  rich  or  too  ostentatious,  adds:  "And 
the  great  charm  of  the  Escorial  as  forming,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  the  landscape  in  which 
it  is  set,  was  one  not  contemplated  by  its  builders."  (Philip  II  als  Kunstfreund,  von 
Carl  Justi.)  But  considering  the  monarch's  minute  instructions  to  the  engineers, 
architects,  and  doctors  who  scoured  the  countryside  for  him,  as  well  as  his  own  personal 
explorations,  this  conclusion  is  not  justifiable. 


4U     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

each  of  the  four  corners.  The  division  of  this  space  into  three 
equal  zones  of  which  the  southern  was  the  convent,  the  north- 
ern the  palace,  and  the  central  the  church  with  the  king's 
own  apartments  grouped  around  the  capilla  mayor,  gave  rise 
to  the  popular  legend  that  the  plan  was  based  on  the  form  of 
the  gridiron  whereby  the  Spanish  San  Lorenzo  had  suffered 
martyrdom.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Philip  himself  either  saw 
this  resemblance  or  suggested  it  in  advance,  considering  his 
morbid  tendencies. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  monastery,  with  the  architect's 
name  inscribed  on  it,  was  laid  under  the  prior's  seat  in  the 
refectory  on  April  23,  1563.  The  work  was  pushed  rapidly, 
with  Philip  ever  in  attendance.  Indeed,  the  great  edifice 
occupied  all  his  hours  for  even  when  not  present  he  was  dictat- 
ing instructions  for  the  founding  of  statues  in  Milan,  the 
making  of  rejas  in  Zaragoza  and  Cuenca,  and  of  lamps,  can- 
delabra and  silver  crosses  in  Toledo;  for  the  cutting  of  the 
mighty  Cuenca  pines  in  the  Guadarrama  region  as  far  west 
as  Avila,  and  for  the  quarrying  of  jasper  and  marble  in  Burgo 
de  Osma,  Las  Navas,  and  other  spots;  and  finally  in  the  regular 
checking  off  of  the  accounts.  Hardly  had  the  walls  begun  to 
rise  when  the  king  changed  his  mind  as  to  the  size — he  decided 
to  double  the  number  of  monks  who  were  to  have  the  custody 
of  his  parents'  tombs  and  "to  make  and  to  say  continuous 
prayers,  sacrifices,  and  commemorations  for  their  souls"  to 
quote  his  letter  of  foundation.  The  accommodation  of  these 
extra  monks  appears  to  have  met  with  no  ready  solution 
from  Juan  Bautista,  but  his  supervisor.  Fray  Antonio  de 
Villacastin,  the  monk  who  had  prepared  the  royal  apart- 
ments for  the  Emperor  at  Yuste,  came  forward  with  a  practical 
suggestion,  namely:  that  as  the  substructure  was  unusually 
heavy  a  third  story  might  be  added  to  Juan  Bautista's  two. 
The  king  instantly  approved  and  the  monks  hailed  the  practical 
idea  as  divine  inspiration;  but  we  are  not  told  whether  the 
architect  dared  protest  against  increasing  the  height  of  his 
relatively  low  walls.  At  any  rate  the  friar's  scheme  was 
adopted  and  the  work  proceeded  accordingly.  But  in  1567 
the  architect  died;  "a  man"  wrote  Padre  Sigiienza,  historian 


PLATE  LXXVIII 


DnnLk 


inn 

inn 

inn 

nnn, 

jnn. 


jnunn 

DnnnDDO ... 
innnnnan 
□nnDDD 
nnnnn 


PLAN  OF  THE  ROYAL  MONASTERY  OF  THE  ESCORIAL. 

Jtuin  Bautista  de  Toledo  and  Juan  de  H err  era.  Architects,  1560-84. 

Scale  200  feet  to  the  inch. 


415 


JUAN  DE  HERRERA 


417 


of  the  HIeronymlte  Order  "of  many  parts,  a  sculptor,  and  one 
who  understood  drawing,  who  knew  Latin  and  Greek,  and 
who  had  considerable  knowledge  of  philosophy  and  mathe- 
matics."   The  chief  assistant,  Juan  de  Herrera,  was  chosen 


Fig.    136 — South  Fagade    of    the   Real   Monasterio  de   San  Lorenzo 

del  Escorial. 
Juan  Bautista  de  Toledo  and  Juan  de  Herrera,  Architects,  1560-84. 

to  succeed  as  royal  architect  and  it  is  with  his  name  that  the 
gigantic  building  is  always  associated  to  the  somewhat  unjust 
exclusion  of  Juan  Bautista's. 

Herrera,  who  had  been  with  Charles  V  in  Flanders  and 
Italy  as  an  officer  of  the  royal  bodyguard,  was  a  man  of  strong 
character  and  as  formal  as  his  new  master.  To  what  extent 
the  Escorial  represents  his  personal  interpretation  of  classic, 
and  to  what  extent  he  merely  executed  his  predecessor's  plans, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say;  but  certainly  he  was  as  thoroughly 
in  sympathy  with  his  task  as  if  he  himself  had  been  in  charge 
from  the  beginning.  The  work  went  on  expeditiously. 
Funds  were  gathered  by  devious  means,  unpaid  workmen  were 
prevailed  upon  also  by  devious  means,  until  the  last  stone  was 


37 


418     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

laid  in  the  Patio  de  los  Reyes  in  1582,  twenty  years  after  the 
first  in  the  refectory.  One  immense  architectural  project  of 
the  sixteenth  century  had  reached  completion.  Its  fame  soon 
spread  through  Europe  and  there  were  not  lacking  both  French 
and  Italian  writers  to  promptly  claim  it  for  their  own  archi- 
tects who,  they  explain,  had  submitted  designs  on  the  request 
of  Philip's  ambassadors.  Indeed  the  latest  edition  of  the 
Diccionario  Encyclopedico  states  that  Juan  de  Herrera  was 
most  useful  to  his  king  in  helping  him  choose  an  Italian  design, 
that  of  one  Pacciolo,  which  was  an  exact  copy  of  the  Vatican, 
and  which  the  Spanish  architect  proceeded  to  alter  and  accom- 
modate to  the  Escorial  site.  To  the  student,  such  pretensions 
would  appear  absurd  even  if  Juan  Bautista's  name  were  not 
inscribed  on  the  corner-stone.  It  is  true  that  St.  Peter's 
served  as  inspiration  for  the  Escorial  church  (although  the 
Spanish  dome  is  a  far  finer  piece  of  construction);  and  also 
it  is  true  that  Juan  Bautista  owed  his  magnificent  sense  of 
plan  to  Rome,  but  to  ancient  Rome,  and  not  the  heterogeneous 
Vatican.  The  Escorial,  as  an  ensemble,  is  the  joint  product 
of  a  ponderous  Spanish  king  and  a  classically  inclined  Spanish 
architect.  Its  severity,  its  pessimism,  its  determination  to 
conquer  by  sheer  weight  and  mass,  its  utter  absence  of  esthetic 
appeal,  would  have  been  inconceivable  to  an  Italian  or  a 
Frenchman.  No  architect  who  had  not  seen  and  studied 
the  Guadarrama  range  could  have  designed  it,  for  the  building 
is  "stone  of  its  stone  and  strong  of  its  strength."  Juan  de 
Herrera  undoubtedly  made  minor  changes  in  his  inherited 
task  as  he  proceeded,  but  the  idea  remains  practically  that 
of  the  man  who  prepared  the  mighty  foundations — one 
crystallized  concept  from  beginning  to  end. 

The  great  achievement  here  is  not  architecture  as  a  fine 
art  but  scheme;  and  if  one's  first  sight  of  the  pile  were  obtained 
from  the  heights  to  the  northwest  where  the  whole  disposition 
is  apparent,  instead  of  from  the  lower  level  where  one  comes 
face  to  face  with  the  crudity  of  the  detail  and  the  almost 
shocking  coarseness  of  the  main  entrance,  one  would  not  have 
to  overcome  a  first  unfavorable  impression.  But  as  it  is,  not 
until  passing  around  to  the  south  and  viewing  that  facade 


JUAN  DE  HERRERA 


419 


(Fig.  136)  and  the  garden  of  the  monks  from  across  the  reser- 
voir, does  one  really  feel  attracted  to  this  monument  of  Philip's 
egotism.  From  here,  too,  the  admirable  setting  is  best  appre- 
ciated; how  the  whole  is  made  to  spread  over  the  terrain  with 


:*  '^ 


1       « 


Fig.  137 — Dome  of  the  Church,  Monastery  of  the  Escorial. 
Juan  Bantista  de  Toledo  and  Juan  de  Herrera,  Architects,  1560-84. 

a  remarkable  feeling  of  structurability,  by  means  of  the  garden 
platform  with  its  retaining  walls  of  granite  and  the  colossal 
plinth  on  which  the  monastery  rests.  The  planting,  limited 
to  this  garden  platform,  reflects  the  severity  of  the  buildings. 
Devoid  of  color  it  is  marked  off  In  rectangular  plots  of  clipped 
box  whose  methodical  spacing  is  interrupted  only  by  occa- 
sional staircases  which  lead  down  to  the  many  grottos  that 


420     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

honeycomb  the  site.  Not  one  non-essential — vase,  balustrade, 
or  moulding — mitigates  the  determined  severity  of  the  whole 
and  the  result  is,  at  least  in  congruence,  irreproachable. 

Looking  from  this  close  range  the  one  feature  visible 
above  the  outer  walls  is  the  dome  of  the  church  (Fig.  137), 
and  this  is  as  assertively  solid  as  the  more  angular  mass  below. 
No  superficialities  were  permitted  in  its  adornment  either 
inside  or  out;  and  the  absence  of  Herrera's  favorite  pyramids 
so  freely  used  on  the  western  or  main  entrance,  inclines  one 
to  suspect  that  Philip's  was  the  restraining  hand.  The  drum 
is  treated  with  coupled  Doric  pilasters  with  niches  between; 
the  arched  openings  are  deep  and  effectively  recessed,  and 
here,  as  elsewhere,  not  a  moulding  is  ornamented.  There 
is  nothing,  it  will  be  seen,  to  recall  the  sumptuousness  of  its 
incentive.  Saint  Peter's;  but  the  dome  in  its  structural  perfec- 
tion far  surpasses  that  of  Michelangelo.  It  closely  resembles, 
allowing  for  its  greater  scale,  that  on  the  little  church  of  Monte- 
pulciano  by  the  elder  Sangallo.  Both  show  that  unity  possible 
only  where  the  work  was  started  and  completed  by  one  architect. 

Of  the  monastery  facades  the  principal  or  west  is  the  least 
satisfactory.  Herrera,  in  the  attempt  to  architecturalize  it, 
weakened  it.  .  Most  discordant  is  the  central  motif  embracing 
the  main  entrance,  for  in  it  all  his  favorite  forms  appear — 
gigantic  superposed  orders,  pyramidal  pinnacles,  and  curved 
flanking  buttresses.  The  manner  of  using  all  these  leaves 
much  to  be  desired.  The  engaged  columns  of  the  lower 
story,  for  instance,  would  be  better  if  exposed  three  quarters 
instead  of  merely  one  half  of  their  diameter;  while  in  the 
triglyphs,  modillion  blocks,  and  main  cornice  above,  there 
is  some  execrable  detail.  This  is  inexplicable,  for  in  the 
interior  of  the  church  the  order  is  beautifully  carried  out. 
Fortunately  the  windows  escaped  treatment;  throughout  the 
building  they  are  the  same  little  unaccentuated  spots  framed 
by  four  blocks  of  granite — two  verticals,  lintel,  and  sill;  and 
the  lintel,  by  projecting  beyond  the  verticals,  imparts  an 
archaic  appearance  to  the  opening.  The  diminutiveness  and 
uniformity  of  these  innumerable  openings  do  much  to  augment 
the  scale  of  the  scheme. 


PLATE  LXXIX 


PATIO  DE  LOS  EVANGELISTAS,  REAL  MONASTERIO  DE  SAN  LORENZO  DEL 

ESCORL\L. 

Juan  Bautisla  de  Toledo  and  Juan  de  Herrera,  Architects,  1^60-84. 

4^1 


JUAN  DE  HERRERA 


423 


The  plan  of  the  Escorial  as  an  architectural  achievement 
is  one  of  the  most  notable  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  fact 
that  it  was  produced  in  a  land  where  the  science  of  planning 
had  thus  far  been  slighted  makes  it  doubly  interesting.   Though 


Fig.  138 — High  Altar  of  the  Church,  ^lonastery  of  the  Escorial. 

in  parts  strongly  influenced  by  Italian  work  it  still  preserves 
the  traditional  Spanish  idea — that  the  mass  be  enclosed 
within  a  walled  rectangle  as  opposed  to  the  open  plan  with 
broken  perimeter.  This  basic  idea  must  have  especially 
suited  a  man  of  Philip's  exclusiveness,  for  the  narrow  ribbon 
of  outside  rooms  practically  forms  a  vast  wall  enclosing  monas- 
tery, church,  and  palace.  Thus  regarded,  the  church  is  the 
nucleus  of  the  plan  and  occupies  with  its  atrium  the  center 
of  the  scheme.  This  atrium  or  Patio  de  los  Reyes  finds  its 
counterpart  in  earlier  Spanish  monasteries  like  Santas  Creus 
and  Veruela  where  the  church  rises  at  the  end  of  a  forecourt. 


424     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

As  to  the  plan  of  the  church,  Juan  Bautista  while  in  Rome 
must  have  heard  much  discussion  over  the  various  partis 
submitted  for  St.  Peter's.  It  was  one  of  these,  but  not  that 
of  his  master  Michelangelo,  that  he  chose  as  his  prototype; 
instead,  the  Spaniard's  preference  was  the  Greek  cross  which 
Peruzzi  had  striven  so  hard  to  make  the  Pope  accept.  To 
be  sure  the  church  of  the  Escorial  has  a  short  western  arm, 
but  as  this  is  vaulted  over  to  create  a  vast  coro  for  the  army  of 
monks  who  were  to  sing  there,  the  effect  is  one  of  a  plan  of 
equal  arms.  It  appears  reasonable  to  accept  this  church  entire 
as  the  expression  of  Juan  Bautista  de  Toledo.  Although  he 
died  in  the  early  stages  of  the  work,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  his  successor  faithfully  followed  his  drawings,  since 
nothing  of  Herrera's  personal  work  shows  the  same  high  dis- 
dain for  falsities.  He,  on  the  contrary,  was  ever  ready  to 
resort  to  those  sham  frontons  and  other  meaningless  motifs 
which  one  would  more  naturally  look  for  in  Michelangelo's 
pupil ;  yet  it  is  in  this  latter's  work  that  one  may  follow  the  un- 
disguised modus  operandi,  stone  upon  stone,  from  the  founda- 
tion to  the  crown  of  the  great  dome.  For  this,  contrary  to 
the  general  practice,  is  of  a  single  instead  of  a  double  shell, 
as  though  the  uncompromising  Spaniard  had  been  averse  to 
even  this  legitimate  deception.  True,  he  reflects  none  of  the 
brilliancy  and  imagination  of  the  Italians,  but  he  surpasses 
them  in  his  Roman  appreciation  of  thorough  construction. 
In  a  land  where  the  Renaissance  had  been  received  only  for 
its  ornamental  value,  this  change  of  attitude  would  never 
have  found  expression  had  it  not  coincided  with  Philip's  own. 
The  pity  of  it  is  that,  having  at  last  grasped  the  fundamental 
principles,  architecture  as  a  fine  art  should  have  been  tabooed 
as  pagan  heresy. 

As  to  the  remainder  of  the  Escorial — palace,  seminary, 
and  monastery — these  are  subservient  to  the  central  mass  of 
the  church.  They  are  treated  in  monotonous  rectangularity 
and  though  destined  for  more  intimate  uses  are  just  as  formid- 
able and  frigid.  Still  in  spots  a  little  sentiment  managed  to 
creep  in,  especially  in  the  monastery  patio  (Plate  LXXIX) 
with  its  gardens  and  tempietto  and  splendid  view  of  the  dome. 


PLATE  LXXX 


WEST  FRONT  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  VALLADOLID. 
Juan  de  FI  err  era,  Architect,  138^. 


425 


JUAN  DE  HERRERA 


427 


It  may  be  too  exacting  to  ask  that  a  scheme  of  such  magnitude 
as  the  Escorial  should  be  practical  in  all  its  parts;  yet  there 
need  hardly  have  been  such  ignoring  of  those  niceties  which 
belong  to  the  ethical  rather  than  the  practical  side  of  planning. 


Fig.  139 — A  Small  Palace  in  Plasencia  by  Juan  de  Herrera. 

The  route  to  the  royal  apartments,  besides  being  circuitous, 
leads  through  a  kitchen  patio;  likewise  opposite  three  of  the 
imposing  entrances  to  the  building  are  stationed  extensive 
kitchen  quarters.  The  error  has  nothing  to  do  with  Juan 
Bautista's  composition,  but  in  the  designating  of  such  promi- 
nent sites  for  the  service  end  of  the  huge  institution. 


428     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

The  remaining  productions  of  Philip's  two  architects  consist 
mainly  in  the  remodeling  of  various  royal  buildings  and  the 
carrying  on  of  others  whose  construction  had  long  been  in 
progress.  Juan  Bautista  began  a  royal  convent  in  Madrid, 
the  Descalzas  Reales,  which  passed  on  to  Herrera  and  which, 
so  far  as  the  profane  may  see,  presents  little  of  interest.  What 
Juan  Bautista  did  on  the  ro3^al  residence  at  Aranjuez  was  swept 
away  by  fire  a  century  later;  neither  is  anything  left  of  the 
Madrid  Alcazar.  Herrera's  career  was  much  more  complete. 
The  greater  scope  of  his  commissions,  including  the  colossal 
cathedral  of  Valladolid  (Plate  LXXX),  a  small  palace  in 
Plasencia,  and  the  Segovia  bridge  at  Madrid,  offers  a  fairer 
opportunity  to  appraise  his  talents.  To  be  sure  he  worked 
always  more  or  less  under  Philip's  dictation  but  nothing 
would  indicate  that  this  was  a  hardship  for  him — that  he  had 
any  impetuosities  that  needed  restraining  or  any  imagination 
that  might  have  produced  a  monument  of  high  artistic  merit 
if  he  had  been  freer.  Architect  and  client  appear  to  have 
been  equally  cold  natures,  pedants  both,  and  denied  the 
creative  spark.  It  was  always  the  same*  heavy  attempt  at 
restoring  Graeco-Roman.  Any  revival  implies  a  paucity  of 
imagination,  but  at  least  the  principles  revived  should  be 
thoroughly  understood.  Above  all,  an  architect  working  in 
a  classic  revival  should  have  done  justice  to  the  orders  and 
Herrera  did  not  fill  this  requirement.  More  engineer  than 
architect,  he  was  able  to  secure  robustness  but  unable  to 
refine  it.  Another  great  engineer-architect,  the  Italian  Sam- 
micheli,  also  strove  for  bigness,  but  his  city  gates  at  Verona 
show  that  he  appreciated  architecture  as  a  fine  art.  A  com- 
parison of  these  with  the  lower  stage  of  the  Valladolid  Cathe- 
dral by  Herrera  speaks  for  itself.  To  be  sure  the  interior  of 
the  cathedral  is  more  commendable  than  the  facade;  the  huge 
piers  and  pilasters  in  rough  stone  are  very  effective  and  the 
side  chapels  are  a  good  adaptation  of  the  Roman  thermce 
motif.  Herrera's  wooden  model  is  still  preserved  and  shows 
that  had  this  church  been  completed  it  might  have  commanded 
respect  by  sheer  size  alone;  but  as  it  stands,  less  than  half 
finished  (only  one  of  the  four  towers  was  ever  erected,   and 


JUAN  DE  HERRERA 


429 


that  but  a  few  years  ago),  it  does  not  add  to  his  fame,  even 
when  due  allowance  is  made  for  Churriguera's  seventeenth- 
century  additions.  The  most  sympathetic  building  associ- 
ated with  Herrera's  name  is  a  small  house  in  the  Estramenan 


Fig.  140 — Patio  of  the  Lonja,  Seville. 
Built  by  Jtmn  de  Mijares  from  designs  by  Juan  de  Herrera,  1583-98. 

town  of  Plasencia  (Fig.  139),  where  presumably  he  was  not 
under  royal  influence.  In  his  favorite  material,  granite,  pre- 
cluding delicate  detail,  it  is  interesting  chiefly  for  its  Doric 
doorway  and  superposed  Ionic  window  handled  with  more 
feeling  than  usual,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  iron 
balcony  does  much  to  tie  the  two  features  together.  The 
two  crude  windows  at  the  top  and  the  pinnacled  parapet 
are  more  typically  Herreran.  In  the  Puente  de  Segovia  in 
Madrid,  Herreresque  bigness  is  more  to  the  point;  in  fact,  so 


430     SPANISH  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  XVI  CENTURY 

formidable  are  his  piers  that  the  feeble  Alanzanares  stream 
seems  to  shrink  still  further  at  sight  of  them.  But  It  Is  a 
noble  bridge,  conserving  the  best  traditions  In  this  land  where 
bridge-bullders  have  been  famous  since  antiquity.  So  Is  the 
granite  Puente  de  Palmas  at  Badajoz,  which  was  built  after 
his  plans. 

There  are  various  other  structures  which  Herrera  as  state 
architect  Is  known  to  have  drawn  plans  for,  but  it  is  doubtful 
if  his  connection  went  any  further.  Chief  among  these  Is 
the  Lonja  of  Seville  built  in  1583-98  by  his  pupil  Juan  Mljares 
(already  mentioned  as  working  on  the  royal  palace  at  Granada). 
The  exterior  Is  of  brick  and  granite,  a  combination  which 
was  becoming  very  popular  at  the  time  and  which  may  be 
seen  in  the  University  Church  and  In  many  seventeenth- 
century  structures.  The  granite  frame  of  the  windows  Is  of 
the  same  post  and  lintel  construction  as  the  Escorlal,  and  In 
the  cornice  occurs  the  same  corbel  motif;  the  Inevitable  pin- 
nacles accentuate  the  corners.  In  contrast  to  the  poor  detail 
of  the  exterior  the  patio  Is  academically  correct  (Fig.  140). 
Some  of  the  salons  have  interesting  vaulted  ceilings.  The 
banal  marble  staircase  was  built  by  Charles  III  in  the  late 
eighteenth  century,  when  It  was  decided  to  use  the  upper 
story  as  the  Archivo  de  las  Indlas. 

Herrera  and  Philip  II  lived  to  the  end  of  the  century, 
1597  and  1598  respectively,  by  which  time  they  had  thoroughly 
Implanted  their  official  type.  The  whole  kingdom  conformed 
to  It  and  the  perfunctory  buildings  which  resulted  are  not 
appealing.  ^  - 


INDEX 


Acebedo,  Don  Caspar  dc,  156 
Aguila,  Luis  de,  328 
Alava,  Juan  de,  158,  190 
Alba  family,  157,  250 
Albomoz,  Bishop  Alonso  de,  169 
Alcala  de  Henares,  46-52,  398 

Archiepiscopal  Palace,  51-64,  77,  i(>2 

• Casa  Lizanos,  77 

Convento  de  las  Carmelitas,  77 

Tomb  of  Cardinal  Cisneros,  'j6-'j~ 

Universit}',  50,  64-76 

Alcantara,  Military  Order  of,  165 
Alcazar  of  Madrid,  389,  398,  399,  42S 

Seville,  298 

Toledo,  390,  398-402 

Aleman,  Rodrigo,  wood  carver,  191 
Alero,  349 

Alexander  VI,  Pope,  see  Borja 
Alexandria,     Patriarch    of      (Alfonso    I'.c 

Fonseca  the  Elder),  145,  149,  155 
Alfonso  \'I  of  Castile  and  Leon,  269 
Alhambra,  the,  see  Granada 
Aljaferia,  the,  see  Zaragoza 
Almohades,  the,  240 
America,  discovery  of,  7,  8,  212,  215 
Amusco,  185 

Andalusia,  iv,  8,  80,  189,  211-333,  39S 
Andino,  Cristobal  de,  79,  86,  91,  97 
Andrei,  Canon  Pietro  de,  169,  170,  274 
Aprili,  Antonio,  258 
Arag6n,  71,  335-361 

Don  Alonso  de,  Bishop  of  Zaragoza, 

336 

Catherine  of,  Queen  of  England,  49 

Ferdinand    of,    see    Ferdinand    (the 

Catholic) 

• Don  Hernando  de,  Bishop,  343,  345 

Aranda  de  Duero,  182 
Archivo  Nacional  de  Alcala,  55 

Xacional  de  Madrid,  278 

de  las  Indias,  430 

Arfe  y  Villafan,  Juan  de,  227 
Artesonados  (wooden  ceilings),  14,  18,  63, 

no,  246,  307-312,  335,  365 
Art  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  by  Dieulafoy, 

11,336 
Asturias,  the,  8 
Audiencia,  Valencia,  365 

Zaragoza,  353,  354-355.  360 

Avila,  II,  38,  169-179 

Casa  Polentinos,  178 

Cathedral,  169,  173-178 


Avila,  Cathedral,  Altar  of  the  Sacristy,  178 

Altar  of  Santa  Catalina,  177 

-Altar  of  San  Segundo,  177 

Monument    to    the    Bishop    of 

Madrigal,    173-177 
Trascoro ,  177-178 


Convento  de  Santo  Tomas,  169,  178 

• • Tomb  of  the  Davilas,  173 

Tomb  of  Prince  John,  76,   169, 

170,  172,  274,  277 
Ayuntamiento  (City  Hall)  of  Baeza,  332- 

333 

■  Granada,  309,  311 

■ Seville,  217-222 

Azulejos  (colored  tiles),  37,  no,  240-246, 
249,250,253,314-315,369 

Badajoz,  193,  430 

Cathedral,  193,  258 

Badajoz,  Juan  de,  194-207 

Baeza,  12,  109,  323,  331,  332-333 

Balearic  Islands,  363 

Barcelona,  7,  8,  11,  281,  363,  364,  367 

Bartolome  of  Jaen,  Maestrc,  282,  323,  328 

Basque  Provinces,  the,  8 

Becerra,  Caspar  de,  331,  343 

Bellczas  y  Recuerdos  de  Espaiia  (now 
Espana,  sus  moniimeJitos),  367 

Bcnavente  Palace,  the,  12,  109,  333 

Benedict  XIII,  the  Antipope,  132,  354 

Bernard,  Saint,  201 

Bernardo,  first  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  52 

Berruguete,  Alonso  de,  43,  55,  58,  65,  72, 
162,  166,  167,  186-189,  208,  212, 
328,  343,  394-  395 

Inocencio,   189 

Pedro,  186 

Bertaux,  M.  Emile,  189 

Borgona  (Bourgogne),  see  Vigarni 

Borja,  family  of,  8 

Francisco  de,  398 

Rodrigo  de  (Borgia)  (Pope  Alex- 
ander VI),  II 

Bosarte,  Don  Isidoro,  iii,  186,  189 

Bourbons,  the,  113 

Bramante,  Donato,  28,  29,  186 

Brescia,  137 

Bribicsca,  212 

Brunellesclii,  13 

Burgos,  8,  12,  41,  79-104,  270,  281,  407 

Casa  Miranda,  98-104 

Cathedral,  80,  84,  122 


431 


432 


IXDEX 


Burgos,  Cathedral,   Capilla  del  Condest- 
able,  83,  85,  91 

Escalera  Dorada,  86-91,  289 

Puerta  de  la  Pellejeria,  85 

Hospital  del  Rey,  97,  98-104,  407 

San  Esteban,  86 

San  Nicolas,  85 

Bustamente,  Fray  Bartolome,  304,  390- 
98,406 

Caceres,  193 

Calatayud,  361 

Carlone,  Alichele,  319,  320,  324 

Carpintero,  Macias,  181 

Carrara,  11,  274,  281,  319,  343 

Carrion  de  los  Condes,  194,  199-208 

Cartuja  de  Triana,  la,  258 

Casa  Consistorial,  Huesca,  353,  360 

• Palma,  383 

Casa  de  Contratacion,  84,  212,  218 

Casas  Capitulares  de  Sevilla,  217-222 

Castile,  4,  5 

Castillo,  the,  107 

de  Coca,  37,  80 

de  Lacalahorra,  4,  181,  293,  316-323, 

332 

de  Villanueva  de  Caneda,  166 

Catalonia,  335,  363 

Catholic  Kings,  76,  311 

Catholic  Sovereigns,  the  (Ferdinand  and 
Isabella),  3,  97,  132,  145,  212,  217, 
273,  274,  282,  292,  316,  340,  341,  400 

Cean-Bermudez,  Don  Agustin,  iii,  169, 
217,  406 

Ceilings,  see  Artesonados 

Cervantes,  49 

Charles,  King  of  Spain  and  Emperor  of 
Germany,  11,  45,  51,  52,  72,  76,  114, 
278,  281,  284,  289,  292,  293,  304,  307, 
311,  344,  350,  364,  390,  398,  410,  417 

Churriguera,  429 

Cimborio  of  La  Seo,  Zaragoza,  336,  339 

Cisneros,  see  Jimenez,  de 

Ciudad  Real,  207 

Claustral  stair,  18 

Clunia,  Roman  town  of,  1 14 

Cobos,  Don  Francisco  de  los,  327,  331 

Coca,  80,  281,  316 

Castle,  37,  80 

CogoUudo,  4,  86 

Colegio  Arzobispal  or  de  los  Irlandes, 
Salamanca,  145,  158-166 

Fonseca,  Santiago,  145 

San  Felipe,  Zaragoza,  353 

San  Gregorio,  Valladolid,  12,  181 

San  Ildefonso,  Salamanca,  157 

Santa  Cruz,  ValladoHd,  4,  l8l 

Colonia,  family  of  builders,  79 

Francisco  de,  4,  79,  85-86,  113,  190, 

191 

Juan  (Hans  von  Coin),  79,  85 

Simon  de,  41,  92 

Columbus,  Christopher,  7,  215 

Comuneros,  rising  of  the,  80 

Conquistadores,  palaces  of  the,  191-193 

Convento  de  los  Jer6nimos,  Lupiana,  203, 
208 


Convento  de  San  Marcos,  Le6n,  194-200 

de  San  Zoil,  Carrion  de  los  Condes, 

200-208 
Copin,  Diego  de,  79 
Cordova,  211,  212,  224,  231,  297 
Cordova,  Gonsalvo  de  (El  Gran  Capitan), 
7,  289 

Luis  de,  308,  311 

Cornisa  or  alero,  349,  353 

Corte,  Nicolo  da,  303 

Cotera,  Pedro  de  la,  67,  68,  76 

Covarrubias,  town  of,  41 

Covarrubias,  Alonso  de,  7,  22,  33,  41-45, 

51-64,  68,  79,  156,  161,  162,  190,  390, 

398-402,  410 
Cubillana,  Juan  de,  304 
Cuenca,  center  of  ironworkers,  228,  414 

Cathedral,  208,  331 

Cuenca  process,  the,  250 

Cuerda  seca  process,  the,  245-246 

Custodia,  the,  14,  227,  228 

Daroca,  360 

Davila,  Juan  Velasquez,  170,  173 

Descripcion  de  Espaiia  y  Africa,  by  Eben 

Said,  246 
Diccionario  de  los  mas  Ilustres  Profesores, 

by  Cean-Bermudez,  iii,  169,  217,  406 
Dieulafoy,  M.  Marcel,  11,  167,  336 
Diez,  Pedro,  11 
Discursos  sohre  la  Pintura,  by  J.  Martinez, 

340 

Domestic  planning,  107-113 

Eben  Said,  the  Moor  of  Granada,  246 

Eboli,  Princess,  407 

Ebro,  the  river,  341,  343 

Egas  (van  der  Eyken),  family  of  builders, 
12 

Annequin  de,  12,  79 

Enrique  de,  3,  4,  14-33,  41,  45,  55. 

67,  85,  132,  181,  266,  270,  282,  292, 
293.  320,  336,  339.  390,  400 

Enrique,  the  younger,  400 

Emperor  Charles  V,  see  Charles,  King  of 
Spain 

Enrique  II  of  Castile,  42 

Ill  of  Castile,  42 

Escorial,  Monastery  of  the,  390,  409-427 

Escudo  (escutcheon)  de  Espana,  the,  72- 

74 
Estilo  Churriguerresca,  144 

Desornamentado,  389,  407 

Greco-Romano,  68,  428 

Mudejar,  34,  39,  336 

Plateresco,  iii,  iv,  11,  12,  14,  217 

Estofado  process,  185 

Estremadura,  38,  190-193 

Esludios  Historico-Artisticos,  by  Marti  y 

Mons6,  76,  274 
Estudios  sobre  el  Renacimiento,   by   Carl 

Justi,  274 
Expulsion  decrees,  34,  122 

Fabre,  Jaime,  367 

Fancelli,  Domenico  Alessandro,  1 1 ,  76, 
169-170,  174,  185,  273-277,  343 


INDEX 


433 


Felipe  de  Borgona,  see  Vigami 

Felipe  el  Hermoso,  see  Philip  I 

Felipe  Segundo,  see  Philip  II 

Ferdinand  of  Arag6n  (Fernando  el  Catol- 

ico),  7,  67,  84,  269,  335,  341.  344.  363 
Fergusson's   History   of  Architecture,    80, 

284,  344 
Fernandez,  Gregorio,  189 
Fernando  III  (el  Santo),  21 1 
Figueroa,  Lorenzo  de,  193,  261 
Flanders,  381,  410,  417 
Florentino,  Jacopo,  11,  289,  315 
Fonseca  family,  80,  281 
Alfonso  de.  Bishop  of  Santiago  and 

Patriarch   of  Alexandria,  80,    145, 

146,  149 
Alfonso  de,  Archbishop  of  Toledo, 

41,  51,  83,  145,  150 

Antonio  de,  85,  270 

Maria  de,  316 

Bishop  Juan  Rodriguez  de,  41,  76, 

79,  80-85,  86,  270 
Forment,  Damian,  339-342,  343 
Frances,  Juan,  75  , 

Francis  I  of  France,  304 
French  army,  the,  55,  132,  166,  335,  400 

Gainza,  Martin,  221,  222,  224,  227,  402 

Galicia,  8,  22 

Gardens,  113.  246-250 

Gazini,  Pace,  258 

Gaztelu,  Martin,  see  Tudelilla 

Genoa,  11,  235,  250,  303,  319,  367 

Genoese,  the,  12,  258,  319 

Gestoso  y  Perez,  Don  Jose,  223 

Ghiberti,  Lorenzo,  11 

Giralda,  La,  235-237,  349,  406 

Golden  Fleece,  Order  of  the,  72 

Gomez,  Alvaro,  67 

Gomez-Moreno,   Don  Manuel,    161,    169, 

297,  327 
Gothic  Architecture  in   Spain,   by   Street, 

iv,  336,  342 
Granada,  3,  7,  il,  211,  246,  269-316,  323, 
430 

Alhambra,  the,  269,  273,  311 

Aposentos    de    Carlos    V,    311, 

312,   314 

-Washington  Irving's  room,  311 

Ayuntamiento  Antiguo,  309,  311 

Capilla  Real,  73,  270-282,  342 

Casa  Castril,  292,  293 

Casa  Chapiz,  311 

Casa  de  Luis  de  Cordova,  308,  311 

Cathedral,  286-293 

CeiHngs,  307-312 

Convento    de    San    Jeronimo,    282, 

289-290,  327 

Fountain  of  Charles  V,  305,  307 

Hospital  Real,  3,  16,  30,  281,  312 

Lonja,  293 

Palace  of  Charles  V,  269,  297-307 

Greco,  El   (Domenico  Theotocopuli),  30, 

33,  186,  394 
Greco-Roman  style,  68,  428 
Guadalajara  Palace,  4,  12,  37,  114,   181, 

333 


Guadalquivir,  the  river,  216 
Guadamaciles  (painted  leather  hangings), 

III,  222 
Guadarrama    Mountains,  410,  413,  414, 

418 
Guas,  Juan  (Johann  Waas),  181,  333 
Guia  de  Toledo,  by  Palazuelos,  390 
Gumiel,  Pedro,  49,  50,  67,  71,  75,  76 
Guzman  Palace,  Leon,  200 

Hapsburgs,  the,  8,  410 

Henry  II  of  France,  157,  409 

Herrera,  Juan  de,  7,  181,  193,  270,  302, 

389,  400,  406,  417-430 
Hieronymite  Order,  the,  410,  417 
Hilario,  IMaestre,  91 
Histoire  de  I' Art,  by  Andre  Michel,  189 
Ilistoria     de     la     Arquitectura     Cristiana 

Espafiola,  by  Lamperez,  ii 
Ilistoria  de  Sevilla,  by  Morgado,  235 
History  of  Architecture,  by  Fergusson,  284, 

344 
Hontanon,  see  Ontaiion 
Hospital   de  la   Santa   Cruz,   Toledo,   3, 

14-22,41,  55,  71,320 
de     San    Juan     Bautista     (Afuera), 

Toledo,  307,  390-398 
Provincial    (de    la    Sangre),    Seville, 

403,  405-406 

Provincial,  Ubeda,  331 

Real,  Granada,  3,  16,  30,  281,  312 

Real,  Santiago,  3,  22-30,  336 

Huesca,339,353,36o 

Ibarra,  Pedro  de,  161,  165 

Infantado  Palace,  see  Guadalajara 

Irving,  Washington,  312 

Isabella  of    Castile   (Isabel   la  Cat61ica), 

4,  7.  30,  72,  85,  270,  335 
Isabella  of  Portugal,  the  Empress,    114, 

298 
Italy,  75 

Jaca,  cathedral  of,  339,  343 
Jacopo  the  Florentine,  li,  289,  315 
Jaen,  211,  270,  323 

Cathedral  of,   323-324 

Jaen,  Bartolome  de,  282,  323,  328 
Jaime,  Don  (el  Conquistador),  363 
Jesuits,  the,  393,  398 
Jews,  the,  34,  38 

Jimenez  de  Cisneros,  Cardinal  and  Arch- 
bishop, 34,   50,  67,   76,    170,  269,   275, 

344.  398 
Joan  the  Mad,  11,  72,  84,  273,  274,  281,  350 
John,  Prince,  see  Juan 
Jordan,  Esteban,  189 
Juan  Bautista  de  Toledo,  7,  413-417,  424, 

427,  428 
Juan,  El  Infante  Don,  76,  169,  170,  173, 

274.  277 
Juana,  Queen,  see  Joan  the  Mad 
Justi,  Professor  Carl,  85,  218,  274,  291,  413 

Lacalahorra,    Castillo     de,    4,    189,    293, 

316-323,  332 
Lalaing,  Antoin  de,  1 1 1 


434 


INDEX 


Lampercz,  Don  Vicente,  iv 

Lara,  Francisco  Gonzales  de,  390,  400 

Leon,  the  kingdom  of,  7 

the  city,  193-204 

Guzman  Palace,  200 

San  Marcos,   194-200 

Leon,  Fray  Luis  de,  139 

Lerma,  Bishop  Gonzalo  de,  92 

Lerma,  Ducal  palace  of,  407 

Leval,  Antonio  de,  303,  304 

Liberals,  the  Spanish,  339 

Life    of    Cardinal    Cisneros,    by    Alvaro 

Gomez,  67 
Life  of  Cardinal   Tavera,   by  Salazar  de 

Mendoza,  390 
Llaguno  y  Amirola,  Don  Eugenio,  iii,  41, 

56,  68,  161,  165,  399 
Lombards,  the,  11,  12,  319 
Lonja  of   Barcelona  (formerly  Consulado 
del  Mar),  7 

Granada,  293 

Palma,  7 

Salamanca,  157 

Zaragoza,  345,  353,  360 

Lorenzana,  Cardinal,  400 

Luna,  Don   Pedro  de,  see  Benedict  XIII 

Lupiana,  203,  208 

Machuca,  Luis  de,  227,  298,  303 

Pedro  de,  227,  297-307,  390,  410 

Madera  encamada,  376 

Madrazo,  Don  Pedro  de,  75 

Madrid,  58,  389,  413,  428,  429 

Madrigal,  Bishop  Alonso  de,  169,  173,  174 

Maeda,  Juan  de,  286 

Majorca  (Mallorca),  364 

Malaga,  cathedral  of,  286,  292,  324 

Manueline  style,  12 

Manzanares,  the  river,  430 

Marti  y  Monso,  Don  Jose,  76,  274 

Martinez,  Jusepe,  court  painter,  340 

Medicis,  the,  80 

Medidas  del  Romano,  by  Diego  Sagredo, 

51,  68,  83,  92,  100 
Medinaceli  Palace  at  Cogolludo,  87 
Medino  del  Campo,  22,  193 
!Mena,  Juan  de,  400 
Mendoza,  family,  4,  114 

Dona  Mencia  de,  83 

Pedro  de,  Cardinal   and  Archbishop 

(El  tercer  Rey),  3,  4,  27,  50,  390 

Don  Rodrigo  de,  12,  316,  320 

Doctor  Salazar,  51,  390 

Mercada,  el  Padre,  215 

Merida,  389 

Mexico,  45 

Michel,  M.  Andre,  189 

Michelangelo,  186,  189,  343,  345,  413,  420, 

424 
Mijares,  Juan  de,  303,  430 
Miranda,   Count  of     (Don  Francisco  de 

Zufiiga),  114 

Don  Francisco  de,  99 

Casa  de,  98-104 

Miraso,  Juan  de,  349 

Montan^s,  Juan  ]\Iartinez,  189,  261 

Montepulciano,  church  of,  420 


Monterey,  Condede,  156 

Palace,  107,  109,  155-157 

Montpensier,  Due  de,  298 

Moniimenlos  Arquitectonicos  de  Espana,  75 

Moors,  the,  34,  37,  127 

Moreto,  Giovanni,  1 1 ,  339,  343 

Morgado,  Alonso  de,  235 

Moriscos,  the,  37,  122,  297,  298,  316 

Morlanes,  Juan,  340 

Diego,  341,  343,  344,  350 

Morocco,  236 

Mudejar  style,  34-39.  336,  344,  345 

Mudejares,  the,  18,  34,  344 

Munez,  Sancho,  228 

Murcia,  11,  189,  211,289 

Murillo,  58 

Najera,  Andres  de,  169 
Naples,  4,  7,  341, 363, 390,  409,  410 
Niculoso  of  Pisa,  Fray,  11,  246 
Noticias  de  los  Arquitectos,   by  Llaguno, 
iii,  41,  56,  68,  161,  165,  399 

Obra  del  Romano  (the  Plateresque  style), 

12 
Ocampo,  Andres  de,  304 
Ontanon,  Gil  de,  68 

Rodrigo  Gil  de,  67-76,   78-79,   162, 

190,227 
Ordoiiez,  Bartolome,  76,  77,  79,  185,  273, 

274,  277-281,  343 
Osuna,  261-266 

Pacciolo,  Italian  architect,  418 
Palacio,  the  Spanish,  107-113 
Palazuelos,     Visconde      de     (Condc     de 

Cedilla),  390 
Palencia,  83 
Palma  de  Mallorca,  7,  346,  363-386 

Borne,  el,  369 

Casa  Consistorial,  383 

Casa  Oleza,  372,  382-386 

Casa  Palmer,  380-382 

■  Casa  Vivot,  371,  376-380 

Cathedral,  the  pulpit,  367-368 

■  Lonja,  7,  367 

Pardo,  Pedro,  wood  carver,  50 

Paredes  de  Nava,  186 

Patio,  the,  108 

Paul  IV,  Pope,  409 

Pavia,  304 

Penaranda,  Palace  of,  64,  86,  99,  1 13-129 

Perpignan,  367 

Peru,  45 

Peruzzi,  Baldassare,  4,  424 

Philip  I  (Philip  the  Fair),  4,  72,  1 11,  273, 

274 
Philip  II,  45,  222,  389,  390,  409-414.  418, 

420,  428,  430 
Piferrcr,  Don  Pablo,  367 
Pilar,  El,  see  Zaragoza 
Pilatos,  Casa  de,  see  Seville 
Pilgrims  to  Santiago,  22 
Pisa,  Fray  Niculoso  de,  246 
Pisano  process,  246 
Pizarro  family,  the,  193 
Plan,  the  Spanish,  107-113 


INDEX 


435 


Plasencia,  190,  193,  42S,  429 

Cathedral,  158,  190 

Plasencia,  Juan  de,  295,  312 

Plateresque  style,  its  naming,  12 

Poblet,  Monastery  of,  339,  341 

Polychrome  sculpture,  182-189 

Pons,  Don  Antonio,  iii,  14 

Portugal,  12 

Pradas,  Juan  Garcia  de,  293 

Prado,  Antonio  de,  353 

Prentice,  Andrew,  145,  155,  156,  354 

Quentin,  Saint,  the  battle  of,  409,  410 

Real  Maestranza,  see  Zaragoza 
Reconquest,  the,  8,  49,  211,  235 
Reformation,  the,  410 
Renaissance,  the,  7-12 
Reolid,  Juan  de,  328 
Reyes  Catolicos,  see  Catholic  Kings 
Riafio,  Diego  de,  202,  216-227 
Ribera  family,  250,  258 
Ribera  tombs,  see  Seville 
Riccardi  Palace,  the,  345 
Rimini,  the  Malatesta  Chapel,  323 
Rodriguez,  Juan,  177 
Ruiz,  Fernan  or  Heman,  224,  227,  231- 
233,  402 

Sagredo,  Diego  de,  51 

Saint  Peter's,  Rome,  410,  413,  418,  420 

Salamanca,  131-167,  221,  222,  266 

Casa  Abarca  Alaldonado,  143 

Casa  Boal,  139,  143 

Casa  de  los  Conchas,  143 

Casa  Garci-Grande,  144 

Casa  Maldonado  y  Amato,  144 

Casa  Maldonado  y  Morillo,  1 50 

Casa  Monterey,  107,  109,  155-157 

Casa  de  las  Muertes,  143,  145,  146- 

150 

Casa  Salina,  143,  145,  146 

Casa  Solis,  155 

Cathedrals,  67,  68 

Colegio    de     Santiago    Apostol    (los 

Irlandeses),  145,  158-166 

■  Colegio  San  Ildefonso,  157 

Convento  de  las  Duenas,  167 

Escuelas  Mayores,  see  University 

Escuelas  Menorcs,  132 

San  Esteban,  158,  266 

University,  13,  132-140 

Salamanca,  Fray  Francisco,  228 

Saldaiiuela,  Palace,  406-407 

Sales,  Juan  de,  367,  369 

Sammicheli,  428 

Sanchez,  Juan,  216,  221 

Sangallo,  the  Elder,  4,  420 

San  Lorenzo,  Monastery  of,  see  Escorial 

Sansovino,  328 

Santas  Creus,  423 

Santiago  de  Compostcla,  3,  22,  51,  336 

Hospital  Real,  3,  22-30 

Saragossa,  see  Zaragoza 
Sculpture,  Spanish,  186 
Segovia,  67,  68,  80,  179-80 
Segovia  Bridge  of  ]\Iadrid,  428,  429 


Seo,  La,  see  Zaragoza 

Sepulchral     Monument     of     Albornoz, 

Bishop, 169 

Alfonso  de  Madrigal,  169 

Davila  f amil}',  1 73 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  270 

Figueroa,  Lorenzo,  193 

Fonseca  family,  281 

— ■ —  Jimenez  de  Cisneros,  76 
— ■ — Joan  and  Philip,  273 

Lerma,  Bishop,  92 

Mendoza,  Bishop  (in  Seville) 

Prince  John,  76 

— —  Reyes  Nuevos,  41 

Rivera  family,  255-259 

Tavera,  Cardinal,  189 

Serlio's  Book  of  Architecture,  400 
Seville,  II,  84,  235-261,  298,  402-406 

Alcazar,  231,  258,  298 

Ayuntamiento  or  Town  Hall,  217- 

222 
— —  Cartuja,  La,  258 

Casa  Alba,  37,  236,  250-258 

Casa  de  Contratacion,  84,  212,  218 

Casa  Olea,  258 

Casa  Pilatos,  240,  257-258 

Casa  Pinelos,  236,  258 

Cathedral,  216 

Sacristy  of  the  Chalices,  223 

Sacristia  Mayor,  223,  227 

—  Sala  Capitular,  223 


Convento  de  la  Merced,  250 

Convento  de  Santa  Paula,  246 

Giralda,  La,  231,  233 

Hospital  Provincial,  405-406 

Lonja,  the,  430 

■  Tribunal  de  las  Indias,  212 

•  University  Chapel,  the,  258,  261,  398 

Tombs   of    the    Ribera   family, 

258-259 
Sgraffito  treatment,  179 
Siena,  155 
Siguenza,  208,  328 
Siguenza,  Padre,  414 

Siloe,  Diego  de,  41,  79,  86,  97,  l6l,  190, 
217,  224,  227,  270,  282-292,  297,  307, 

324,  327 
Silversmiths  (plateros),  14 
Statuaire    Polychrome     en     Espagne,     hy 

Dieulafoy,  167 
Street,  George  Edmund,  74,  336,  342,  360 
Sunia   de    Tratos  y   Conlratos,   by   Padre 

Mercado,  215 

Tagus,  the  river,  46 

Talavera  pottery,  394 

Talavera,  Juan  de,  361 

Tarazona,  339,  343,  360 

Tarragona,  339 

Tavera,  Juan,  Cardinal  and  Archbishop, 

51,  52,  189,  390,  399 
Tcruel,  360 

Toledo,  Archbishops  of,  4,  49 
Toledo,  3,  4,  11-22,  30-39,  41-46,  390-401 

Alcazar,  41,  72,  398-402 

Casa  del  Greco,  35 

Cathedral,  3,  41-45,  50,  282,  283,  400 


4.'}G 


INDEX 


Toledo,  Cathedral,  Capilla  de  los  Reyes 
Nuevos,  41-45,  402 
Capilla  de  San  Juan,  45 


—  Sala  Capitular,  49,  50 


Hospital  Afuera,  317,  390-398 

Hospital  de  la  vSanta  Cruz,  3,    13, 

14-22,  41,  55,  71,320 

Puerta  Visagra,  73 

Synagogues,  38 

Tordesillas,  350 

Torrigiani,  Pietro,  403 

Triana,  258 

Tribunal  de  las  Indias,  211 

Trujillo,  193 

Tudela,  343 

Tudelilla,  342-343,  354,  367 

Tudor,  iMar\',  409 

Ubeda,  270,  323,  327-332 

■ ■  Casa  de  las  Torres,  331 

San  Salvador,  327,  328 

Santa  Maria,  328 

Ucles,  390 

Urbino,  Rafaello  da,  301 

Valencia,  3,  8,  li,  336,  363 
Valladolid,  86,  180,  224,  228 

Cathedral,  181,  428-429 

Colegio  de  la  Santa  Cruz,  4,  181 

■ -Colegio  de  San  Gregorio,  12,  181 

Alonasterio  de  San  Benito,  186 

• Aluseo  Provincial,  182 

• Santa  Magdalena,  74 

Vallejo,  Juan  de,  97 

Vandelvira,  Andres,  227,  324-327,  331 

Vatican,  the,  410,  418 

Vega,  Luis  de,  398,  399 

Velasco,  Don  Pedro  de,  92 

Velasquez,  Anton,  222 

Veray,  Etienne,  361 

Vcrgara,  Nicolas  de,  77,  104,  390 

\'eruela,  Monastery  of,  423 


Viaje  Artistico,  by  Bosarte,  iii,  186,  189 

Viaje  de  Espaha,  by  Pons,  iii,  14 

Vid,  La,  Monastery  of,  114 

Vigarni,  Felipe  de,  51,  52,  72,  80,  97,  181, 

281,  342 
Vignola,  401 

Villacastin,  Fray  Antonio  de,  414 
Villapando,  Francisco  de,  400-402,  410 
Vitrubius,  51 
Voyage  de  Philippe  le   Beau  en  Espagne, 

by  Lalaing,  iii 

War  of  Independence,  335 

War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  400 

West  Indies,  the,  215 

Xaraete,  sculptor,  196,  212,  331 

Yeseria  (patterned  plaster),  63,  no,  236- 

240 
Yuste,  Monastery  of,  72,  398,  410,  414 

Zafra,  193 

Zalzillo,  Francisco,  185 
Zaragoza,  11,  325-360,  369,  414 

■  Aljaferia,  the,  335 

■  Audiencia  or  law  courts,  353,  354- 

355.360 
Casa      Argillo     (now     Colegio     San 

Felipe),  353 

Casa  in  the  Calle  Mayor,  359 

Casa  de  la  Real  Maestranza,  353,  360 

Casa  Zaporta,  129,  354 

Cathedral  of  El  Pilar,  339,  344 

Cathedral  of  La  Seo,  336,  342,  349, 

360,  367 

San  Pablo,  344,  349,  353 

Santa  Engracia,  340-342 

Torre  Inclinada,  344 

Zarza,  Vasco  de  la,  169,  173-178 

Zoil,  San,  Monastery  of,  194,  200-208 

Zufiiga,  the  annalist,  12 


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